The Forbidden Trilogy (35 page)

'I will,'
Drake said.

They were gone. Lucy's head suddenly felt light after
sharing it with three other people. She didn't know how Sam survived it,
bumping into every thought someone else had. Lucy would have gone crazy and
started slapping people to get them to mentally shut up.

She sat up straighter on the couch in their suite, and
reached for a glass of water. "This just gets better and better, doesn't
it, Bro?"

Luke stood and paced the room, his brow furrowed in worry.
"Still think the Freedom Fighters group is worthless?"

"I don't know. I can't see it working, but it doesn’t
look like we can totally count on Sam either. We may have to do something, but
I'm not sure the Freedom Fighters are the way to go." The campus
loudspeaker buzzed. "Oh, crap. We're late for class. Hurry!"

They grabbed their book bags and raced from the room before
the hall monitors could cite them for tardiness.

Outside, a crowd had formed around the center circle, where
punishments were handed out for citations. In the past, Higgins handled these
issues privately in his office, not as a public display of power like this.

Luke and Lucy paused to see what the commotion was about.

The voice of their new god, Mr. Black, boomed from a
megaphone. "Classes have been postponed in order to mete out punishment to
a student who felt he was above the rules. Assemble at the circle as witness to
his crimes, or suffer your own consequence."

One of the Freedom Fighters stood bound and gagged in the
center.

Lucy couldn't remember his name, but recognized him from the
meeting. She hoped they hadn't snagged him for rebel-related infractions.

Mr. Black continued. "This boy was caught using his
powers in an improper location without permission. Punishment has been set at
five lashes to the back."

The crowd gasped. First, no one had ever prevented students
from using their para-powers anywhere they liked, as long as they didn't hurt
anyone else. Second, the punishments for citations had usually been some kind
of manual labor. One girl had been forced to clean a bathroom with a toothbrush
when she was caught making out with her boyfriend behind the bleachers, but
nothing like this....

Mr. Black set the megaphone down and stood before the crowd
with a whip in hand. An evil smile curled up his face.

Silence descended on them as everyone held their breath,
waiting to see what would happen next.

He flicked the whip and a scream filled the air around them.

Lucy imagined wild animals made a similar sound when caught
in traps.

The entire crowd of students shuddered with each lash. Guys
who never showed emotion in public wiped tears from their eyes. Girls sobbed.

Lucy got angry. Really angry. So angry she would have given
anything in that moment to have a more proactive power, like fire or
telekinesis. A human lie detector was only useful in certain circumstances.
Right now, she wanted to hurt them in a more immediate way.

Gary had been right. She might not want the death of
students on her conscience, but she couldn't allow this to happen either. Many
would fight whether she and Luke helped or not, but maybe with their knowledge
and training, more would survive.

It was time for another Freedom Fighters meeting.

***

That night, Lucy stood in front of a different crowd. The
brutal punishment, rather than force obedience, had inspired more rebellion.
More students than ever had joined the Freedom Fighters. Lucy vetted each one
with questions, designed to make sure there were no spies in the ranks, and
that each person was prepared for what might come.

Namely, death.

"Has anyone heard how Mike is doing? I can't believe
they beat him like that."

A girl, Desirai, raised her hand. "I slipped into his
dreams before I came here. He's in a lot of pain but he'll be okay."

Ah yes, a dreamwalker.
Lucy made a note to talk to
her soon. They could use someone with her gifts to weaken the enemies for the
main assault, and to coordinate plans with Sam and Drake.

"Thank you, Desirai. Please, keep an eye on him. And
see me later, if you're free. I have some ideas I'd like to talk to you
about."

The girl's large eyes glowed with pride. She'd probably
never been on assignment. Most of their group had no field experience at all,
but it didn't matter; they would have to learn now, or die.

"Luke and I are being sent on assignment. I don't know
why, but we shouldn't be long. In the meantime, catalogue every power we have
access to. Recruit new members, but
carefully!
We don't want anyone
getting caught at this stage. As soon as Luke and I are back, we'll
attack."

***

Three days and two parkas later, Lucy and Luke got the call.

Next stop: Russia.

Sam's words floated in and out of Drake's head like
feathers—important feathers, he knew—but still... the curve of her lips seduced
him more powerfully than the sounds coming out of them.

"Drake, you're not listening." Sam pulled away and
adjusted her shirt to cover her belly.

"I'm sorry. You're just too distracting." He
pulled her close and kissed her again, hungry for her touch.

She pushed him away and got out of bed.

"Come back. I'll behave."

"That doesn't appear to be possible for you right now.
Besides, I promised Brad we'd do his video today. I have to get ready."

Drake clamped down on the prick of jealousy that insinuated
itself into his heart like a virus. First, Brad had slept with Kylie. Now, Brad
spent more time with Drake's girlfriend than he did.

His pregnant, virgin girlfriend.

He loved her like no one else in the world could, and he
trusted her—having access to her thoughts made that a no-brainer. Right now,
they needed to focus on getting their story out to the world—an enraged group
of citizens could effect a lot of change, and give them the edge they needed
over Rent-A-Kid. This organization flourished in the shadows, but Drake bet
they wouldn't be so cocky when the spotlight of the world shown on them.

They also needed to find the Seeker and rescue Sam's
friends.

She'd never agree to stay at the cabin, in safety, while he
tracked the Seeker. That didn't mean he wouldn't push for it, but he needed
another plan in case she didn't let him go. He needed to keep her and his
unborn child safe.

He rose from bed and stretched his long form, then dropped
to do some push-ups and sit-ups. His super strength didn't mean he had a
get-out-of-working-out-free card. He still had to stay in shape and keep up his
endurance. After all, Sam may have been eating for two, but Drake was fighting
for three.

After a quick shower, Drake joined Bernard, Brad and Sam in
the living room.

The professor had set up some impressive video equipment and
a mock stage on which to film.

"What's all this?" Drake asked.

Brad checked the lighting and adjusted some settings on the
camera. "We want it to look professional. Okay, here's the plan. It'll be
hard to do a mind-reading test with Sam, because that's too easy to fake.
Instead, you're going to do a strength demonstration, Drake."

Sam's long hair flowed down her back in curly waves, and a
red blouse brought out the color in her cheeks and lips. Her blue eyes popped
with whatever makeup she used. Drake preferred her without all that face paint,
but he had to admit she rocked the look.

He kissed the top of her head. "You look great,
Babe."

Brad took his place on the other side of Drake, and left the
professor behind the camera. "Drake, you need to lift us both, and make it
look easy."

"It is easy, Dude. Lifting you two isn't the problem. I
just have to be careful not to hurt Sam."

Brad scowled. "Or me, I hope."

"Or you. But she's carrying my child, so if one of you
has to get dropped on your ass, guess who it'll be?"

"Yeah, I get it. I'd drop me too if I had to
choose."

He tinkered with a few more settings. "Good. Okay.
Ready? Action."

Brad posed in front of the camera and stared at the little
green light blinking on and off. "Is it working?"

The professor chuckled. "Yes, go ahead."

Brad cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands.
"Right. Okay. Um. So, if you've been following my blog lately, you know
I've made some pretty wild claims about some friends of mine who escaped a
secret organization using paranormal powers. I have here Sam and Drake. Sam can
read minds, but how do you prove that on air? But Drake here, he can not only
control minds, but is ridiculously strong. That's much easier to demonstrate,
so here we go."

Drake looked to Brad for the go-ahead, then put his hands
out for each of them to step onto. When they had their feet on his palms and
their arms on his shoulders, he lifted them from the ground until they had to
bend over to keep from hitting their heads on the ceiling.

The professor sucked in his breath. "Astonishing."

Drake didn't break a sweat. He lowered his arms slowly to
keep them from toppling off, and reached for Sam to steady her once back on the
ground.

Brad stepped forward with wobbly legs. "There you have
it, folks. What normal man could do that without so much as a blink? Want to
see more? Follow us."

Brad walked around and took the camera off the stand, and
ushered Drake outside. Everyone else trailed after the camera.

"Now Drake will do another demonstration of his inhuman
strength. Drake, can you please go lift that car?"

Drake's mouth curved into a half smile. Would Brad think of
nothing to challenge him?

He reached under the belly of the Ford Taurus and lifted it
as anyone else might lift a skateboard. Even Sam stared wide-eyed, mouth agape,
as he stood there holding the car over his head.

After the strength demonstration, Brad interviewed Sam and
focused on the pregnancy and her escape. Drake sat next to her and held her
hand, but had little to contribute to the conversation until the end.

"And Drake, when you and Sam were finally about to
escape, what made you decide to use mind control on Sam?"

Drake's blood pressure shot through the roof. Was Brad
trying to start a fight?

"I had to protect her and our baby. I had no other
choice."

The interview ended.

Drake stood and clenched his fists. "Brad. Kitchen.
Now."

They faced each other over the center island where knives
and a cutting board lay. Brad eyed them warily, but he must've known Drake
didn't need weapons to eviscerate him.

"What the hell, man? Are you
trying
to drive a
wedge between Sam and me? Trying to get us to fight so you can swoop in on
another one of my girlfriends?"

Brad took a step back and raised his arms in retreat.
"What are you talking about? Of course not. I love you and Sam. No way do
I want to cause problems."

Drake's blood surged in his veins. He slammed his fist down
on the island, scattering the knives. "You slept with Kylie. She may not
have been the love of my life, but what were you thinking?"

Brad's mouth dropped. "How do you even know about
that?"

"So, you don't deny it? We ran into her on the beach.
My girlfriend reads minds. You do the math."

"Did Kylie happen to think up what happened before I
slept with her? Or the circumstances?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, I'd say it does. You had been gone for weeks, no
word—I thought you were dead, man. I was out drinking, she bumped into me, and
after too many shots, stuff happened that I barely remember. You'd already
dumped her. You were gone, and I was miserable." Brad's shoulders slumped
forward. "You really getting pissed at me for this?"

Drake paused. Kylie meant nothing to him; she never had.
She'd been a temporary escape from his insane life, and he was a status symbol
for her. No surprise that she'd seduced Brad.

"Whatever. She's nothing. But Sam means everything to
me and it's already tense between us right now. Your questions aren't
helping."

Brad walked around the island to stand by Drake. "I'm
sorry. It's just, I know what people like to read. This stuff sells, and right
now we need major hits. I didn't mean to mess things up for you."

Drake held Brad's stare. They'd been best friends for, well,
forever. Brad had risked his life, his job, and walked away from his home to
help them.

"We're cool, man. You're right. It doesn't matter.
Sorry I'm so messed up right now. I'm just... angry. I hate feeling this
powerless. At least
you
are helping Sam in some way. What am I doing but
sitting around making sure she eats? We need to go after the Seeker. I can't
afford to wait for something bad to happen."

"So what are you going to do?"

"If Sam won't stay behind while I hunt, then I'll have
to go without telling her."

When I woke up from my nap, the house felt almost empty—at
least empty of the chatter and movement of four people—and a scent from the
kitchen made my stomach rumble and mouth water.

The talons of sleep clung to me as I used the restroom and
changed out of my sweats. I'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it seemed to help
with the drug withdrawals and pregnancy.

Drake stood in the kitchen with a skillet in hand. He smiled
when I entered the room. "I wanted to surprise you with a date night.
Things have been... tense... between us. I thought we could use some time
alone, so Brad and Bernard left us the house for a while."

Candles and a vase of yellow lilies—my favorite—turned the
ordinary kitchen table into a romantic getaway. Butterflies danced in my
stomach, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I loved Drake so much, and
I craved some time with him, but I hadn't known how to make it possible with
life so crazy.