The MORE Trilogy (33 page)

“You don’t think so.”

“I don’t know, Caleb,” she said. “But you have to entertain the possibility that it might have been a Rogue.”

The thought sent a leaden heaviness to settle in his stomach. “Why would a Rogue want her?”

“Because we do?” she offered. “Because he knows she’s one of us? Who knows, perhaps he wants to hold her for ransom.”

Caleb leaned against a tree trunk, his mind whirling with the frightening possibilities. “I need to find her.”

“Where are you?”

“East end of the city. Last row of houses next to the school.”

He heard her turn to address someone in the room. “Tiernan’s on his way. I’ll organize a search party and will be in contact.” She hung up before he could thank her.

Caleb paced nervously as he waited for Tiernan, anxious to move forward, but knowing there was no point until the tracker joined him. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes before the huge man appeared, eyeing the tracks with single-minded focus. He crouched down, examining the brush, and reached out to touch a slightly bent branch.

“They went this way,” he said.

Caleb nodded and followed him into the undergrowth.

A heaviness tugged on Ava’s limbs, her hands and feet hanging down inexplicably as a strange pressure wedged against her stomach. She moaned, trying to clear her blurry vision and focus her equally fuzzy thoughts.

Where was she?

She swayed nauseatingly, head bumping against something. No,
someone.

Someone’s back.

Just as her mind cleared enough so she could identify the fact that she hung draped over someone’s shoulder with branches whipping her hair, a cool hand touched her forehead, and the blackness consumed her once again.

When she next awoke, her head lolled on her shoulders, her body aching and mouth parched and dry. Blinking unseeing eyes, a darkened room came into focus after a few moments, stacks of boxes laden with dust . . . a rickety staircase on the far side of the room. Ava straightened, but her movement halted abruptly, and she realized she was tied to a wooden chair, hands shackled behind her back with metal handcuffs. She shook them tentatively, and a rush of tingling pain shot up her arms.

Evidently, she’d been there a while.

“No use trying to escape,” a familiar voice warned. “You’ll never get free of those bonds.”

She turned her head to see Arthur leaning on the wall to her right, watching her carefully. “Arthur? What are you doing?” Her voice rasped harshly. She cleared her throat, longing for a drink of water. “Why are you doing this?”

He chuckled lightly, crossing to stand in front of her. “You really have no idea, do you?”

She looked up at him blankly. “No idea about what?”

He crouched down on his heels, putting him on eye level with her. “All these years, and you never suspected,” he murmured. “We were close, you and I. That was intentional. I needed to know if you ever got a clue. There was that one time—with the hamster—but other than that . . . nothing.

“When the Protector was sent, I had to step back, of course. But I’ve never been too far away. Someone had to keep an eye on you.”

Tears burned in Ava’s throat as she pulled instinctively at her bonds. “Arthur, I don’t understand. Why are you doing this? I thought you were my friend.” His eyes softened, and Ava felt a rush of relief.

“I am your friend,” he said. “But there’s a higher purpose at work here.”

Ava shook her head, wincing at the pain behind her eyes at the movement. “I don’t understand. What higher purpose?”

He stood abruptly, all signs of compassion gone. “
Your
purpose, of course. Your destiny. You always said you felt different, like you were special somehow. Well, you are. More than you know.”

“Is this about the Council—”

“The Council!” He slashed a hand through the air angrily. “The Council is a bunch of self-righteous bureaucrats who have been holding our people back for centuries! But all that will end soon. And you, my dear, will be the key.”

“Me?” Ava’s mind whirled with confusion but then focused on what he said, and what Caleb had once explained to her. “Wait a minute,” she began. “You’re . . . you’re a Rogue, aren’t you?”

“Rogue,” he spat. “I’m a
revolutionary
. Don’t you see, Ava? Our kind was not created to bow down to humans, to serve them in secret while we hide in the shadows.
We
are the superior beings.
We
are the ones who should rule this planet.”

Ava swallowed in fear and revulsion at the fanatical light in his eyes. “And . . . what about the humans?”

He shrugged. “They are inconsequential, really. Most will fall into line, don’t you see? They are cowards at the core of it. Once they realize what we are, they’ll be the ones cowering in fear.”

“You can’t do that,” she said quietly. “The Council will stop you.”

Arthur laughed. “Oh, they might try,” he said. “But they will fail. You see, that’s where
you
come into the picture.” He leaned over her, bracing his hands on the arms of the chair, his face mere inches from hers. “Don’t you get it? It’s your destiny to be useful to the cause, Ava. It’s the reason for your very existence.”

Chapter 17

The scenery blurred at the edges of Caleb’s vision as he ran in Tiernan’s shadow, stopping only when he did to examine the terrain and search for another sign of Ava’s trail. The huge man ran a hand over the dirt, then scooped up a handful, lifting it to his nose.

Caleb paced, fighting back the urge to demand they
go now.
He knew there was no rushing Tiernan, and there was no one who could do his job better.

It was why the Council had sent him after Ava, after all.

“It’s no one I’ve encountered before,” he said, letting the dirt drift through his fingers before brushing them off on his pants. “Race, of course, but other than that . . .”

A few phone calls confirmed what Caleb already suspected—whoever took Ava was not a Guardian. Which left only one conclusion.

“I don’t get it,” Caleb said, a hand knotted in his hair in frustration. “If it
is
a Rogue, how did he pull this off? Getting into and out of New Elysia without raising an alarm? He couldn’t have been acting alone.”

“But Rogues by nature
do
act alone,” Tiernan replied, setting off again at a slower pace while still scanning the area for clues.

He was right. Rogues lived for their own pleasure and eliminated anyone who got in their way—human and Race alike. Usually, their reckless indifference left a path of destruction easy for the Council to trace, and once discovered, they were quickly taken down. But this one . . .

This one seemed unusually well prepared. He knew where to find Ava and how to get into the city unnoticed. Hell, he got to her and took her away right under Caleb’s nose. If it was a Rogue, it was one unlike any he’d ever encountered before.

The thought chilled him. The Rogue’s unpredictability put Caleb at a disadvantage, something he rarely experienced and greatly despised.

They burst through the underbrush and onto a paved road. Tiernan shook his head ruefully. “They got in a car,” he said. “I can still track her, but it’ll be harder on foot. I won’t be able to feel her if they get too far away.”

He and Tiernan felt the others approach at the same time, both spinning on their heels to take up a defensive posture, and relaxing when they recognized the group of a half-dozen Protectors apparently sent by Madeleine. They’d been careful to leave an easy-to-follow trail so the search party would be able to catch up quickly.

Katherine stepped forward, addressing her brother. “How far?”

Tiernan nodded grimly toward the ground. “We’re getting close. The trail is only a few minutes old. But it would help if we had a car.”

Katherine nodded. “Rafe’s driving one.”

Caleb blinked. “Rafe?”

Katherine laughed slightly. “Yeah, he insisted. Your mother is not too happy about it, I might add—a Council member going on a mission.

“He’s tracking me with a GPS. Shouldn’t be long until he catches up to us if we stay on the road.” She eyed her brother. “We are staying on the road, right?”

Tiernan closed his eyes, his head tilting back as he took a deep breath. “Yes,” he said, turning to his left. “Let’s go.”

The others lined up behind him and they began to run, feet pounding on the pavement as they sped down the road. After only a few more minutes, Caleb heard the sound of an engine, and a large, black SUV approached, Rafe at the wheel.

“You guys need a lift?” he called, elbow hanging out the window. The Protectors piled in the car, Tiernan and Caleb cramming into the front seat. They sped down the road, hugging the tight curves as it twisted and turned.

Tiernan remained tightly focused, relaying terse instructions until they pulled onto a gravel road nearly obscured by overhanging branches. “Stop!” he ordered.

Rafe slammed on the brakes.

“What is it?” Caleb asked.

Tiernan’s eyes narrowed as he focused on something Caleb couldn’t see. “A cloak,” he said. “I think we’re getting close. We better proceed on foot.” They got out of the car and moved silently down the edge of the gravel road.

When Rafe started after them, Caleb held up a hand. “You’re not coming.”

“The hell I’m not.”

“You’re a Council member,” Caleb argued. “I appreciate you bringing the car, but you can’t be risked, not even for this.”

Rafe crossed his arms over his chest. “Look, I may not be a Protector anymore, but I am Race. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, and I know how to fight, you know.

“Besides, it’s not your decision. I’m going. Now, do you want to stand here arguing about it, or do you want to go after Ava?”

Caleb frowned but nodded curtly. They proceeded through the cloak, alert to any movement. Cresting a hill, Tiernan ducked behind a tree, raising a hand, his muscles flexing tensely. They all stopped, and he waved Caleb forward, pressing a finger to his lips.

Caleb eased next to him, peering over his shoulder. Below them, a dilapidated, two-story house stood in the middle of a small clearing, smoke pouring from the chimney. He spotted two figures in black pacing in front of the house, and as he looked, a third—and a fourth—appeared from behind the house, eyes scanning the surrounding area before they headed back the way they’d come. Three carried guns, the fourth was empty-handed. Caleb knew he would be the one to watch out for. If he didn’t need a weapon, he undoubtedly had a formidable gift.

Tiernan jerked his head and the pair hurried back to the rest of their group. “At least four outside,” he said in a quiet whisper. “No idea how many inside. They’ll sense us coming if we move any closer, so we’ll have to move quickly.”

Rafe leaned in. “We should send two in from the road, the rest circling around to the back. It might be enough of a distraction to give us a least a few minutes advantage.”

Caleb nodded. “I’ll go. They’ll expect me.”

“No,” Tiernan said. “It’s too dangerous. You’ll get yourself shot.”

“I’ll go with him,” offered a Protector named James. The man was tall and thin, not much of a fighter but he had a strong telekinetic ability.

“Good,” Caleb said eagerly. “Between his telekinesis and my shifting, we’ll be able to avoid any bullets coming our way. Once you all move in, I’ll focus on getting into the house.”

“You have no idea what you’ll face in there,” Tiernan warned.

“Then you’ll have to back me up as soon as you can.”

Tiernan exchanged a telling look with Rafe before nodding curtly. They all knew there would be no convincing Caleb otherwise, and time was running out. They had no idea what kind of abilities the Rogues had: one of them might very well be able to sense them at any time and just hadn’t really tried yet.

They split up, easing through the surrounding forest while Caleb paced nervously. James leaned against a tree, mentally tossing and catching a rock.

“Can you stop that?” Caleb hissed.

James shrugged, letting the rock fall to the ground. “Just trying to stay sharp.”

Caleb’s phone vibrated—the signal from Tiernan—and he inhaled deeply. “You ready?” he asked.