Surrender (26 page)

“Well, you can’t ignore your talent. You have to use it. But the Counselor can file a petition with the Association detailing that you
are
using it to help people—the way I do—in a much less controlling way. Then you don’t have to go to Freedom and train to be a Director. Isn’t that what you want? What you need?”

It was. But Zenn needed me too. I couldn’t abandon him. I rubbed my gloved hand. “Yeah, but Mark said things have gone all wrong.”

Ty waved her hand. “Don’t worry. Dad can’t come here.” If she was lying, I couldn’t tell.

“What’s with the glove?” she asked, changing the subject as easily as I had earlier.

“I need to get this sticker off, and Pace said you could do it.”

Her eyes flickered to my silver hand, where the outline of the ring bulged. “
Pace
did?”

“Yeah. So? Can you do it?”

Ty glared at me for second before she left the kitchen.

I followed. “Hey! Can you do it or not?”

Ty spun on the bottom step. “No, I can’t do it. Only someone with extreme control can remove a sticker. I can’t believe Pace told you I could do it. I. See. Visions.”

“O-kay.”

Like that cleared everything up. Thanks, Sis.

Ty-Gavin-Whatever stormed up the steps calling Jag’s name. I could barely keep up with my mad-as-hell sister. At the last door on the right, Ty didn’t stop to knock, she simply barged in, bellowing for Jag. “Get out here and explain yourself!”

His room was clean and unused, with a bay window that opened onto a balcony. The ocean breeze ruffled the curtains amidst Ty’s foul language.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“He’s gone,” she said.

Her words punched me in the gut, eliminating my ability to breathe. Ty banged open closet doors and metal drawers, like Jag might be hiding in one of them.

“Gone?” My voice sounded much too high. That wasn’t true. Jag wouldn’t leave me. Not again.

“Yes, Vi. Gone.” Ty’s eyes flashed dangerously. She moved onto the balcony and yelled obscenities toward the water. “See?” She turned, holding a metallic rope in her hands. “Gone.” She flung the evidence away.

Jag had left me for, like, the fourth time. I felt lost without him. Numb. Empty.

I left Ty cursing on Jag’s balcony and shuffled down the hall, down the stairs, down to the lobby. Outside, the sun shone guilty rays on my bare skin. My feet carried me toward the beach. I dropped to my knees and closed my eyes as a hole opened in my soul.

Then a voice entered my mind, familiar and fatherly.
Violet. You have the power to change the world.

Dad’s words echoed in my mind over the crashing surf.

I can help you remove the sticker. Zenn is desperate to see you.

A response formed, but I didn’t allow it to leave my mind. Dad knew my weaknesses. Just because he’d been gone for seven years didn’t mean he was stupid.

The Association needs you, Vi. Tyson has chosen a different path, but that doesn’t mean you must follow her. We need Jag, too. You can help him see reason. You can be together.

I opened my eyes and blinked in the bright daylight. Dad was right. I
could
control Jag.

I realized that’s what Dad wanted. I remembered the way he’d watched me in the tech facility. With interest. Like I could do something for him. And I could: get Jag to join the Association with me.

No way in hell,
I thought.
Jag will not make your transmissions. Not as long as I’m alive.

Dad’s disappointment stole through me.
Your death would be tragic . . . Think of what that would do to me, V. I’ve lost you once, will you make me go through it again?

The threat hung there, floating in the enraged space in my mind. I don’t know if I blocked my dad out or he left, but I didn’t hear him again. My shallow breathing washed in and out with the waves. The weight of my unmade choices pressed down on me until I felt like I couldn’t stand up.

How does anyone ever figure out what to do with their life?

“Vi.”

I looked up at the familiar voice. Right into Zenn’s beautiful face. Tears stained my cheeks. “Zenn,” I choked out.

He gripped me in a fierce hug before placing both hands on the sides of my face. “Shh, beautiful. Go to sleep now.”

His voice spread thick honey over my senses. My eyelids
drooped, no matter how hard I tried to keep them open. “Zenn,” I murmured.

“Trust me, Vi. Go to sleep.”

Problem: I didn’t trust him. But I couldn’t fight his voice, and the calming darkness swallowed me.

Everything moved. Strong arms held me close. It wasn’t Jag, I would know his scent anywhere.

This person smelled like the wind, fresh and free and full of salt. My head bounced on a muscled shoulder. No color. No light.

“Put her down and get out.” Ty’s words carried a vein of fury.

“I’m here to help,” Zenn said, sincerity written in every syllable.

“I don’t believe that.”

“And I don’t care what you believe. If I hadn’t taken her from the beach, Thane would have her right now.”

Ty made a noise of disapproval in her throat.

“Besides,” Zenn continued, “I’m the only one who can remove that sticker.”

“That’s not true,” Ty argued. “Anyone with enough control can remove it.”

“It’s a new security feature. Only the one who put the sticker on can take it off. Thane reconfigured Vi’s ring while
she was at the tech facility. He didn’t want her to be able to remove it herself.” Zenn slid his hand into mine, and it felt familiar and safe. “I gave her the clue to get her here, hoping Jake could help her, but—”

“She made it here, didn’t she?” Ty traced her fingertips along my eyebrows.

“I stalled Thane as long as I could, but she still almost didn’t get out in time.”

“She’s fine, Zenn.” Ty sounded exhausted. “Let’s get this done. Vi?”

I wanted to move, speak, something. I couldn’t.

“You put her to sleep.” Ty sounded hysterical. “Wake her up. Right now.”

“Let’s get her unstuck first,” Zenn said.

When I tried to open my eyes, I couldn’t. Something thick lay across my face, creating a fierce blackness. I struggled against the binding.

“Lie still, Vi.”

I obeyed. Anyone would obey his voice. “We’ve got to get your sticker off, and then we’ll talk.” Zenn laid me on a couch and set a pillow under my head.

“Sure, okay.” My words slurred together.

“Go back to sleep.” His words flowed into feathery ribbons, urging me to drift into blissful slumber.

I wanted to. But cool hands moved down both my arms.

Then pain.

More hurt than anyone should ever have to endure. My right hand felt like it had been sliced off with a roto-blade.

Voices murmured around me. An intense orange light pulsed through the darkness. Two pressure points throbbed as someone pressed on my shoulders.

Someone close by was screaming. I wanted to make them stop. Help them. Anything so they would shut up.

Finally, the blinding pain in my hand receded. The screaming stopped.

“She has control issues,” Ty whispered.

“Who doesn’t when they first learn what they can do? She has more talent than anyone I’ve met. She’ll be fine.” Zenn’s voice filled a void in my heart reserved just for him. “Her feelings for Jag are powerful.”

“Jag has let his feelings cloud his judgment. He knows what I’ve seen. He won’t—”

“Don’t worry about Jag,” Zenn interrupted. “He’ll do what he thinks is right. He always does.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

A long silence followed. I almost wished for the physical pain. Anything to drown out this emotional burden swirling around me.

“I’m not sure we should remove the sticker,” Ty whispered. “If she’s stuck, she can’t find Jag. He’ll think he’s finally pushed her too far. Then he’ll do what he needs to do. And she’ll be safe.”

“That’s up to Vi,” Zenn replied. “We can’t help her without her control. Let’s try again.”

I wasn’t ready for the consuming pain this time either. The screaming started again as fire moved from my wrist down my hand, which was somehow still attached to my body. Bolts of hot pain tingled in the tips of my fingers. The light surrounding me turned redder. The glare became brighter.

And then a white light shone in the distance. On instinct, I reached toward it, called it closer so I could share in its glory. As it neared, I saw Zenn standing within the light. I wasn’t sure if I should cry tears of joy or punch him in his traitorous mouth.

“Settle, Vi,” he said. “You’ve got to help me.” He took my hand and the pain faded. His eyes were the brightest blue I’d ever seen. No clouds. Only my sweet, wonderful Zenn, in complete control of himself.

“Zenn,” I breathed out. “How come you never told me? I would’ve helped you in the Resistance.” Tears slid down my cheeks. Lonely, heartbroken tears.

Zenn traced one finger down my face. “You mean that
here.” He touched my lips lightly. “But not here.” He placed his hand over his heart.

“I would’ve helped you,” I insisted.

“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell you.” He smiled, a gesture full of love and longing and sadness.

“Zenn, about Jag—”

He shook his head. “Don’t.” He cupped my cheek in his palm. His touch felt so light. “You don’t have to explain.”

He whipped his head around at a loud sound. “My time is gone.” He faded from my sight, but his voice lingered in soul. “Good-bye, my lovely Violet. Ty?”

“Go,” she said from somewhere beside me. “And Zenn . . . thanks.”

“Tell her I miss her. And I love her.”

“I’ll tell her.”

“No!” I reached for him, but Zenn was already gone.

I told the girl inside to stop sobbing, stop screaming, stop feeling sorry for herself.

A whisper of water touched my hand and all agony eased. The soothing darkness enveloped me.

Just breathe,
I told myself. A cool draft washed over my skin. Voices floated around me. Familiar yet foreign at the same time.

“She needs to be trained,” Ty said. “She knows nothing.”

“Jag’s been with her for almost a month,” Jake said over the tech-comm. “He’s been putting her through some tests. And he left her a note for the simulator.”

“But she’s had zero training. Jag said she didn’t even know who she was—”

“She knows
now
. Jag told me how much she’s already done. We don’t have time for formal lessons. I trust Jag. You should too.”

The darkness lightened and Jag floated in my mind. I reached for him, my Choker, the part of me I needed to feel complete.

Sitting up abruptly, I clawed the black cloth off my face. Ty knelt in front of me, an anxious crease in her forehead. No one else was in the room. I wondered if I’d just dreamt about Zenn or if he had really been there.

I flung my arms around Ty, the stupid tears falling again.

Her shoulders shook as she cried. “You’re unstuck.”

I examined my left hand. It looked like I’d submerged it in hot water for a long time. A small band of white scar tissue circled my pinky where the ring used to be. A permanent reminder of Zenn.

“Vi . . . how do you know about the Resistance?”

I looked up into my sister’s eyes. “I’ve heard Jag talk about it . . . in his dreams.”

“In his dreams?” Ty raised her eyebrows. “That’s some wicked powerful mind control.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not like I enjoy taking a trip inside his nightmares.” I exhaled as I ran my hands over my face. “What do you know about it?”

Ty smiled, the kind smile of an older sister. “I have an incredible talent—I can see things others can’t. That’s why I was taken away. When I wouldn’t use my power the way he wanted, Dad let me rot in prison for a few months. I was allowed to go home—to check on you. See if you had any gifts. Remember that?”

I nodded, watching tears trickle over her cheeks.

“I was sentenced to Freedom. But Zenn came and helped me escape from prison. He had the proper ID card to cross the border. My new name. He gave me food and water for my solitary walk to the Badlands. He provided the code words so I could find and recognize Jag.”

She paused, focusing on something only she could see. “Zenn saved me.”

I knew how she felt. He’d saved me countless times. “But I thought he was working for Dad. Isn’t he?”

Ty pulled herself out of her memory and looked at me. “It seems that way, Vi. Early last year, Zenn stopped all communication with the Resistance. I was already living here in Seaside, but Jag asked me to contact him. That’s when we learned he’d switched sides.” She exhaled loudly. “He said he did it for you, but you had no gifts and it didn’t make sense. I’ve never seen Jag so mad. He was practically spitting fire.”

She smiled, but it didn’t extend past her mouth. “So, well, I don’t know where Zenn is right now. Jag thinks he’s solidly with Thane.”

A long silence followed while I contemplated all I’d seen and heard in Jag’s nightmares. Everything between Zenn and Jag. How Zenn had controlled Blaze. The way Jag blamed Zenn for his brother’s death.

“So, what do you know about Blaze?” My voice sounded too hollow.

A steely glint entered Ty’s gaze. “You know about Blaze?”

“I—”

“Does Jag know you’ve invaded his memories?”

“No. And you can’t tell him.”

A mixture of frustration and sympathy moved across Ty’s face. “All right. I won’t tell him. I told him to tell you everything.”

“Everything? There’s more?”

“Blaze died maybe a year and a half ago. During a job for the Resistance, with Zenn. I—I saw it happen.” She ducked her head, her words fading into whispers. “Jag thought he was responsible. For assigning Blaze the mission to Freedom. I mean, he was already the Assistant Counselor here. But learning it was Zenn’s fault? That broke Jag into so many pieces. He and Zenn were best friends.”

I struggled through what Zenn had said in the forest. What I’d seen in Jag’s nightmare.

“Ty . . . was Zenn really responsible?”

She cleared her throat. “I don’t know the answer to that, Vi. No one does. Not Jag. Not even Zenn, I expect.”