Tegan's Power (The Ultimate Power Series #4) (20 page)

“Ha! I knew it!” I
exclaim clapping my hands together in glee.

“You lot are incredibly
irritating sometimes,” Finn mutters but he’s smiling and something squeezes in
my stomach to see him happy.

When we reach the
barrier it’s in a less inhabited spot. Finn says we need to avoid the crowds of
nutters camped out awaiting the arrival of aliens, and I wholeheartedly agree.

There are some woods
along the barrier that the humans haven’t yet decided to inhabit. We leave the
van nearby and trek through the trees until we get to the shimmering purple
wall that blocks out the rest of the world. Being that it’s purple and all, it
seems only logical that Theodore was the one to put it there. Emilia must have
constructed it in this way to make it look like it was the sorcerer, and in
turn direct attention away from her.

I know I didn’t inherit
the best genetic material when it comes to mental health, but I never
anticipated my grandmother would turn out to be such a lunatic.

I run my hand along the
barrier and it fizzles at my touch. I get that hum of recognition that tells me
this magic was done by someone related to me. Hesitantly, I take a step forward
so that I’m only a centimetre away and then experiment by waving my hand
through it. It slips past the barrier as though it were thin air and I gasp.
Despite what Roman told me, there was still a small part of my brain that
thought it wasn’t possible.

With a deep breath for
courage, I walk all the way through it and come out the other side. I look back
at my friends and see them calling to me but I can’t hear a sound. Wind
whistles by my ears and I suddenly feel terribly alone in the world. Finn,
Alvie and Gabriel are all tinted purple and the longer I stay on this side the
more blurry and indeterminate they become.

Right, on to the task
at hand. I pull my phone from my pocket and dial in the number E.J. Edwards
gave me to contact him. It rings out but I get no answer, so I hit ‘call’ a
second time. After three rings his pleasant British accent comes through,
“Hello, is that you, Tegan dear? I am sorry. I was putting a pie in the oven a
moment ago.”

I smile, imagining him
doing such a thing in a little goblin house, even though he probably lives
somewhere completely normal. “That’s alright. How’s my dad doing?”

Edwards sucks in a
breath and lets it out. “He’s making progress, but it’s slow. It will probably
be several more weeks before he’s back to his old self.”

I hold the phone
tighter to my ear and try to keep the disappointment from my voice. “Well, at
least he’s progressing, even if it is slow.”

“Very true,” Edwards
agrees and a silence falls between us.

“Do you…do you think I
might be able to talk to him?” I ask, unsure.

“That might not be the
best idea just yet. But do call back in a fortnight and he could be up to
speaking to you then.”

Sadness makes my gut
sink but I keep my brave face intact. “Alright. I’ll call back in a couple of
weeks.”

“Right you are. How is
everything back in Tribane?” he asks making polite chit-chat. If only he knew
that the answer to that question would take a
really
long time to
answer.

So I lie and say,
“Everything’s fine. I better go.”

My voice is shaky now
and I think I hear pity in Edwards tone when he replies. “Okay, you take care
of yourself.”

“I will,” I tell him
and then hang up, slipping my phone back in my pocket and sinking to my knees.
Being on the other side of the barrier, away from everyone else, I feel safe in
allowing my emotions to overtake me. Tears fill my eyes and I remain completely
still for a long time, just weeping and feeling relieved that I don’t have to
put on a tough front in this moment. I’m too far away from the others and the
blur of the barrier is keeping them from seeing me properly.

As I wipe my eyes and
stare at the open space ahead of me, I have a brief desire to flee. I could run
away from Tribane right now and no one would be able to stop me. The temptation
is one that I almost give in to.

But then I remember all
of the people who are back there and I know that I can’t leave them. Somehow,
each and every one of them has wriggled their way into my heart and I couldn’t
abandon them even if I wanted to.

Pulling a tissue from
my pocket and blowing my nose, I steel myself and turn back around, walking
through the barrier and returning to the other side.

Pick a Number

Finn

Okay, so even though I can’t really see
Tegan through all that purple shit, I can still tell that she’s upset. It’s
something about the way she’s kneeling on the ground, her back turned to us. I
can feel her hopelessness as though it’s a tangible thing.

The poor girl has been
through a lot these past few years, and what happened to her dad was fairly
high on the fucked up scale, especially since he’s the only true family she has
left. I’m thinking that Emilia doesn’t exactly count.

For a moment I think
she’s not actually going to return, but then she stands up, brushes herself off
and walks straight back through the barrier.

“Dad’s still not better
yet. Edwards said it’ll be another couple of weeks before he’s up to talking to
me,” she tells us, not meeting any of our eyes – and hers are looking
distinctly red.

Her words are laced
with disappointment and I realise she must have really gotten her hopes up that
maybe he would be cured already. I throw my arm around her shoulders and give
her a tender squeeze.

“Cheer up, Charlie. It
could always be worse.”

She nods quietly and we
walk back to the van. When we reach it I decide to go for a drive instead of
heading straight back to Cristescu’s. I drive to a spot I like to go to sometimes,
which is a deserted old farmer’s field on the outskirts of the city.

“By the way, everyone’s
invited to a party at Crimson tonight. The vampires are throwing it for Ethan,
sort of like a welcome home thing,” says Tegan.

“Yeah, I’m so not going
to that,” I tell her.

“You can count me out,
too,” Gabriel adds.

“Oh come on, it might
be fun for us to blow off some steam.”

“I’m not in the habit
of blowing off steam around vamps I’ve tried to kill and who’ve tried to kill
me. It’s just not clever. And anyway, I know a better way of blowing off
steam.”

Tegan raises an
eyebrow, instantly thinking I’m making an innuendo. “Finn…”

“Ah, now, look where
your filthy mind wanders,” I say shushing her. “I meant something else. You’ll
see.”

I stop once we reach the
stretch of road beside the empty field and go around to the back of the van. Taking
out a hand gun, I give it to Tegan.

“You know how to use
this?” I ask her.

“I have a fair idea.”

“Good, let’s go.”

I walk to the middle of
the field and begin shooting into the distance with my Benelli M4. There’s
absolutely nothing to hit and it’s sort of liberating. I like the sensation of
letting the bullets loose, kind of the same way some people love bursting the
bubbles in bubble wrap. When I’m done I turn to look at Tegan and she’s staring
at me cynically.

“Sometimes, Finn Roe, I
think you might truly believe you live in a Martin Scorsese film.”

I shrug. “Try it.”

Gabriel and Alvie are
sitting on the hood of the van, their arms linked as they watch us. Tegan turns
back to the open space ahead of us and glances down at the gun in her hand. A
moment passes, but when she finally decides to shoot she’s so incredibly bad at
it that I have to stop her and give her a quick lesson. Once I’m confident
she’s got the hang of it I let her go again and this time she’s much better.

After a couple of
rounds a look of cool calm comes over her features and I know she’s getting it
now. Sometimes with Tegan, it feels like in another life we could have been
brothers. I know it’s weird because she’s a girl and all, but there are moments
when I feel like we’re thinking the exact same thoughts.

She has no more bullets
left when she turns to me and asks for more. I grin and shake my head at her.

“Sorry, no can do,
Petal. I can’t afford to waste any more ammo, just in case. But do you feel
better?”

She smiles. “Much
better.”

“That was the plan. Now
come on, let’s get back to the house. It seems you have a vamp party to get
ready for tonight.”

“Do you really not want
to come? Ethan said he’d ensure your safety.”

I wince, because she
doesn’t realise how emasculating that sounds. So maybe we don’t think the same
thoughts
all
the time. “No, I’m good. I have my heart set on a quiet
night in.”

When we get to
Cristescu’s, Tegan rounds up the gang and invites them all to the party at
Crimson. Delilah and Ira are the only two who agree to go, with everybody else
respectfully declining. We may be living in a vamp house, but that doesn’t mean
we want to be in a club with hundreds of them, me especially.

Later on, Allora’s
sitting on an armchair alone in the living room when I enter and she seems to
blush when she hears me speak.

“Hey, Goldy. How are
you feeling?”

“I’m good,” she answers
in a quiet voice, rubbing at her arms.

The fireplace close to
her is lit, so she can’t be cold. I like to think I might have given her goose
bumps with memories of what I did to her this morning. I perch myself on the
arm of the chair and when I trail a hand down her curly hair she instinctively
sinks into my touch, like an animal seeking comfort. Sometimes it feels like I
never really connect with people on this level – touching just for the sake of
it. I continue to stroke her until Delilah and Ira enter the room and take a
seat on the couch across from us.

Delilah watches me
intently while Ira picks a book up from the coffee table and begins flicking
through it. I raise a ‘what the eff are you gawking at?’ eyebrow at Delilah and
she turns away with a little smirk. What is it with women and wanting to know everything
about other people’s love lives?

Pure nosiness.

For a second I have an
idea of asking Allora if she’d like to spend the evening in my room with me
watching a movie, but then I remember how she can’t see. Hmm, what kind of
activities can you do with a blind girl? Many, many completely inappropriate sexual
things enter my head. But that’s just it, they’re inappropriate. I want to get
to know her in a relaxed and casual environment, but I can’t seem to come up
with anything.

Perhaps she’d be
content with just listening to the movie? Nah, that wouldn’t work. I give her a
quick kiss on the cheek and tell her I’ll be back later. I want to do a circuit
of the city to keep an eye on things. When there’s a sorcerer in the mix, the
status quo can change rapidly if you’re not paying attention.

Aside from Theodore, I
haven’t seen a trace of any witches or warlocks. Marcel in particular has been
uncharacteristically quiet this past while. Although saying that, I’ve found
that in general the magical families tend to keep a low profile.

I drive towards
Indigo
only to find the place locked up tight. There are a few shops nearby still open
for business, but most of them are empty of patrons. Every once in a while a
couple of human police will walk by on patrols, but otherwise the streets are
dead.

I sit in my van, biting
at my short fingernails and worrying if this is what we have to look forward to
from now on. People too afraid to leave their homes and vampires having the run
of the place.

It’s evening by the
time I get back and all I managed to do was save one old lady from being mugged
by a group of human teenagers. I also gave a middle aged man directions to the
nearest open grocery store.

You know, real hero
stuff.

After so many years
constantly fighting a battle, I’m itching for some action. Quiet periods only
make me antsy.

Arriving back I find Tegan,
Alvie and Amanda in the kitchen trying to prepare dinner. Emphasis on the
trying
part. They all seem to be working together to make a stew and the counter
is a mess of chopped vegetables and meat.

“Ever heard of the
saying ‘too many cooks spoil the broth?’” I ask humorously and sit down on a
stool to watch them. I pick up a raw carrot and take a bite.

“Oh shush,” says Tegan
as she turns back to consult the recipe book she’s working from. “I’m just not
used to catering for so many people.”

“I say you give up now
and just order in pizza.”

“I second that,” says
Lucas as he enters the kitchen. Amanda tenses up at the sound of his voice.

“We’re not cooking for
you,” she says, meeting the dark haired vamp’s eyes coolly. She stands with her
hands on her hips, staring him down.

His gaze seems to move
along her body appreciatively before he replies, “You used to love feeding me.”