Misty Falls (11 page)

I scanned the room, revelling in the knowledge that I had a whole week with old friends. A couple of guys appeared to be missing and there were some new faces too. Funny to think my sister Gale would be joining us next year; this was the last year of being the only Devon at camp.

Paul Hampton, organizer of Youth Savant activities in England, came into the meeting room.

‘Hello again, guys. Great to see you back for another dose of camp. As well as the usual fun and games, I’ve got some new ideas for us to try out this week, following the feedback forms from last year.’ Paul perched on the edge of the snooker table, waiting for us to settle on the chairs, tables, and floor around him. He was in his late twenties, not classically handsome but he had this twinkle to his eye that made you look twice. ‘I’ve got Lara with me this year to help with you girls so give her an easy time of it, won’t you?’ He waved to a young woman whom I recognized as an old camp student from some years back. With a halo of Afro black hair, gorgeous dark complexion, and huge brown eyes, Lara packed quite a punch in the looks department. ‘I don’t want you scaring her away like you did my last helper.’

We laughed at the suggestion that we frightened off his old assistant. Elise had been a terrifying Danish lady who had kept us all on our toes with unannounced room inspections. Fortunately she had found her soulfinder in India and was now, according to Summer, terrorizing the youth of Goa at their camp.

Paul and Lara passed round the camp brochures. I flicked through mine, recognizing most of the outdoor activity choices from previous years. I made a mental note to go for body boarding. The morning slots, however, were all blocked out for something called Personal Development.

Finn, a savant from Manchester, put the question for everyone.

‘Hey, Paul, what’s with the morning slots?’

‘That’s the big change this year. Some of you expressed an interest at the end of last camp in learning related to your gifts. Traditionally, we let you figure it out on your own but there have been a number of incidents over recent months that have forced a rethink. We believe you could benefit from some guidance from more experienced savants.’

I could feel my blush creeping up my cheeks. I had written on the form last year that I would like more help controlling my gift (I had been feeling particularly sore after being bullied out of my last school). I must have foreseen that I would make zero progress over the year that had just gone. But as I didn’t want to be blamed for spoiling the fun factor of camp with work, I kept quiet.

Finn wrinkled his nose. ‘You mean you’re putting us through exercises or something? Won’t that be like school?’

Paul grinned. ‘I promise you, it’ll be great fun. Your tutors know you’re on holiday and have been asked to think of ways of teaching that’ll appeal to you.’

‘Aw, man.’

‘Finn.’ Paul’s smile dimmed. ‘Give it a chance, please. And now, while we are on more serious subjects, there’s something you need to know. We have two special guests for the evening to explain. A few of you have already met them but they are here for a tragic reason so please listen carefully to what they have to say. Lara, can you invite them in?’

Lara popped her head round the door and then Uriel entered, followed by his younger brother Victor. Passing my seat, Uriel stopped and gave me a quick hug.

‘Sorry, Misty, I couldn’t text you to tell you I was coming. You’ll understand in a moment why.’ He then joined his brother at the front as Paul continued speaking.

‘Our two visitors are Uriel and Victor Benedict. You all know Misty.’ A buzz of agreement went round the room. ‘Well, two of Misty’s aunts are soulfinders to their brothers—how many of you are there?’ Paul said, trying to keep the tone light, though I knew with Victor, the FBI agent, in the room we were headed for dark territory.

‘Seven,’ said Victor. His features had a sharper edge than Uriel’s, the hawk among the Benedicts. His eyes were particularly intense—a grey iris rimmed by a darker ring. He wore his dark brown hair quite long but it was slicked back from his face in a manner that suited his air of ruthless control. I found him fascinating but made a point of trying to pass under his notice at family gatherings. Working on my quick-to-assume-guilt conscience, he made me feel I were about to commit a crime or had already done so and he was about to arrest me. If he had my gift, I’m sure he would never let go of a single spillikin.

He held the room with his intense gaze; I could sense even the most rebellious of us settling down to be on our best behaviour. ‘Sorry to interrupt your vacation. We are here to give you a safety briefing.’

Safety briefing? This was new. I exchanged a glance with Angel and Summer. They seemed to expect me to know something.
I’m clueless
, I admitted telepathically.

‘You may have already noticed that a number of your colleagues aren’t joining us this week,’ said Paul.

I ran a quick roll call in my head: no Joey Marston; Ellie Fisher was missing; and Callum MacDonald wasn’t sitting with Finn as he normally would.

‘They’ve stayed away because there is alarm in the savant community for the safety of younger members,’ Paul explained. ‘Some parents have elected to keep their children at home.’

The image of the map Uriel had showed me popped up in my mind. On the flight out, none of the murders had been in the UK and I had not felt particularly at risk.

‘Two weeks ago Mia Gordon, a newly identified savant from London, was abducted,’ said Victor, confirming my worst fear. ‘She should have been listening to this briefing with you—she was only sixteen and about to attend her first camp.’

That’s the name of the girl who should’ve been in our cabin,
Summer told Angel and me.

‘Her gift was treasure seeking.’ Victor flexed his fingers, the only sign that he was upset by what he was saying as he kept his expression impassive.

Was? Oh God.

‘She turned up dead, body dumped in the Thames last week. We’ve concluded that she is the latest victim of a killer who moves round the world picking exclusively on young savants. The murderer has claimed thirteen victims that we know about: one here; five in America; two in Australia; two in New Zealand, three on mainland Europe in Germany, Denmark, and France. That’s why we’re here. I’m briefing every youth camp around the world to warn you to be on your guard. This person will kill again unless we find them first.’

Horrified silence followed these words. How should we react when one of the people who should’ve sat among us had been murdered? Death had always seemed remote—a problem for the future—but now it had terrifyingly walked into the room.

‘We’re very sorry to bring you this bad news but it’s also why we are including the morning sessions this year.’ Paul picked up from where Victor had stopped. ‘We want to keep you safe. The killer targets those who have not mastered their gift. The FBI profiler who dealt with the homicides in the US thinks that this is because it makes them easier to subdue and the killer is basically a coward. If you can fight back, he’ll leave you alone.’

Victor raised a hand, finger pointing for emphasis. ‘That’s not to suggest the victims are in any way to be blamed for what happened to them. Our intention is to reduce the likelihood you’ll be targeted. Unfortunately a person of this nature will always find someone he or she can overpower. Are there any questions?’

Zillions. I put my hand up, arm trembling.

‘Misty?’

‘Do you know anything about the killer—what he looks like?’

‘He or she,’ Victor corrected me. ‘We know very little. The profiler puts him—and she thinks it is more likely to be a him—at around thirty to fifty so not someone in this room. Uriel, can you explain what else we do know?’

Uriel stood up from leaning against the snooker table. ‘Some of you are aware that my speciality is forensics. I also have a gift for taking people and things back to the past. It works best with living subjects but I can draw some impressions from bodies. The strangest aspect of these murders is that there is no trace of the killer, or indeed how he or she kills. The last victim was dead before the body was dumped but the results read as if she spontaneously stopped living.’

‘So you don’t know anything?’ asked Finn, sounding aggressive because he, like the rest of us, was scared.

‘I didn’t say that. The absence of evidence
is
a trail. We can conclude that the killer is one of us, a savant, and their gift is for just this: wiping out any physical or savant-detectable signs of his or her presence. We can also conclude that the means of murder is part of that gift—a cancelling, if you like, of life.’

‘Geez,’ murmured Angel, rubbing her arms. ‘That’s really creepy.’

‘It is,’ agreed Uriel. ‘There’s a team working hard on tracking down this killer but we are determined to prevent another death. In addition to learning how to handle your gifts, you’ll also be taught some basic personal security measures and how to raise the alarm if you are in a situation where you have reason to suspect the person.’

‘I want to emphasize,’ said Victor, ‘that none of the victims were able to send a distress call before they were killed. This means that either the murderer is able to block telepathy or the victims went to their death without suspecting him or her.’

Paul took the floor again. ‘I’m sorry that we had to cast this cloud over the start of camp but you can understand, I’m sure, that the stakes couldn’t be any higher. Please learn as much as you can this week and make sure you practise it when you go back to your usual routines.’

‘I’ll be here for the first two days to see small groups of you for mental defence training,’ said Victor. ‘Other volunteers from the Savant Net will be arriving tomorrow to help you with your gifts.’

Summer raised her hand.

‘Yes?’ Victor’s expression brightened with interest as his gaze fell on my friend. ‘Summer, isn’t it?’

She gave a flustered smile. ‘How did you know?’

‘You’ve got a gift similar to mine so I’ll be working with you one-to-one.’

‘Oh, um, cool.’ I could tell Summer was alarmed at that news. I wish I could tell her Victor was all bark and no bite but I couldn’t lie. He was more all bite and no bark if his reputation was anything to go by. There were hundreds of criminals behind bars who had not seen him coming until he seized them: think swimmer in water and
Jaws
.

‘You had a question?’

‘Yes.’ Recalled to herself, Summer regained some of her usual poise. ‘You said that the killer was one of us.’

‘Correct.’

‘How do we know then that we can trust the people we are training with this week?’

Victor smiled approvingly. ‘Good question. You can’t absolutely.’ Victor was never one to offer false comfort. ‘I’ve called in people I know I can trust so if you can extend your faith to me then I’ll vouch for them.’

‘So, are you sure?’ Summer pressed.

‘I’d stake my life on it as I’m related to half of them. Four of my brothers and three of their soulfinders will be spending the week here. Misty knows them too if you’ve questions about them. They’ve just finished at the summer camp in California so will arrive tomorrow morning.’

‘Oh wow, the fabulous Benedict brothers are coming our way,’ whispered Angel to me, patting her heart. I had told her about my aunts’ new relations and shown her the wedding photos from Venice.

‘Who’s coming?’ I asked.

Uriel took over the briefing. ‘Your aunt, Diamond, and Trace are leading the team.’ He turned to address the whole room. ‘Misty’s aunt is an expert in conflict resolution; my eldest brother, Trace, is a police officer but also a tracker. Also with them is Will—he senses danger and will be running the personal safety briefings with Vick. The younger team members are Yves, Phoenix, Sky, and Zed.’

You’ll love Phoenix and Sky,
I told my friends.
They’re such fun.

‘They all have very different gifts but both Sky and Phoenix have experience of being trapped by a stronger savant so will be able to give you survival tips. Our hope, of course, is that you’ll never have to use them. However, as our killer often strikes more than once in the same country within weeks of taking the previous victim, Mia’s murder means the UK is now our priority.’

A chill ran down my spine: a strange sense of foreboding that someone in this room would be the next to die.

‘Everyone clear on what’s happening?’ asked Paul. ‘Now for the moment of truth! Lara, please hand round the sheets giving details of who is working with whom.’

Angel shrieked when she got hers. ‘Oh double wow, I’ve got Yves.’

‘Don’t let Phoenix hear you say it in quite that tone,’ I joked weakly, struggling to shake off my premonition.

‘I know they’re devoted to each other, but, oh my!’ She pretended to swoon.

‘I suppose they think your ability to manipulate water is close to his gift to control energy.’

‘I don’t care what they think; I just like the result.’ She gave me a cheeky grin.

I opened my paper. Zed. I couldn’t think how my truth gift was like his skills: as seventh son of a seventh child, Zed had a little of all his brothers’ gifts as well as his own one for foreknowledge. Putting it bluntly, he was the whole circus whereas I was a one-trick pony.

Why Zed for me?
I asked Uriel, using telepathy so I didn’t set off a whole round of demands for explanations from each student.

Because he has to control input from all of us when we combine our gifts. Victor thinks that’s a little like your grip on truth—so much sensory information that it gets away from you.

I nodded, pleased. Zed was a bit scary but I knew the way to neutralize him was to get Sky on my side and fortunately she and I were mates.
Thanks.

‘OK, if you’ve all got your packs,’ said Paul, ‘I suggest you dump them in the cabins and come back for dinner. We are not going to give this evil individual the victory of spoiling your holiday, so put it away for now. We’ll start on the protection agenda tomorrow.’

Grumble though we did about being given ‘work’, it was more just for show as we were all behind the new regime. We had caught the chill of fear. In fact, the morning exercises proved to be the best part of camp. Will, the middle-in-age of the Benedict brothers, in his early twenties, had the square-shaped face and broad shoulders that read as dependable in my book. He also had a sweet sense of humour and came across as gentler than his intimidating brothers. We were all a little surprised to find that he ran the personal security sessions with Victor taking a back seat. Victor only came to the front when asked to act out the baddie in the scenarios Will created. That was an astute strategy because it meant that Victor remained aloof from us, making his pretend attacks almost as scary as the real thing, or so I imagined.