by Holly Hook
“Mr. Deville. Thanks.” Janelle sank into her seat several minutes later. Breathe, she had to remember to breathe again. “I didn't mean to sound so horrible.”
Her teacher turned onto a freeway entrance ramp. “Sorry that happened back there. I had no idea she’d show up again.”
“That wasn’t your fault,” Gary said, massaging his neck. It was still red from Kevin’s headlock.
The turn signal clicked off as her teacher merged onto the freeway, joining a river of red taillights flowing into the darkness. “I think it’s safe to say we lost them. But we’ve got to keep moving. I’ll go ahead and take you to the airport. Orlando, right?” He stopped talking for a moment to let Gary nod. “I’m sure she’s alerted every Tempest in the area that you’re on the run, Janelle. She’ll probably even have a story about you printed tomorrow in Surge.”
“Surge?” she asked. Things were looking better and better.
Mr. Deville turned to look at her for a second, as if unable to believe that she didn't know what it was. “I suppose your parents haven't told you much. That happens sometimes." He put his attention back on the road. "It’s the Tempest newsletter.”
“How did Andrina seem to lose her power back there? She couldn’t even open my door.”
Mr. Deville rolled down a window, letting the cool night air blast in. “That stuff on her must have been freezing. Anything cold takes a Tempest’s power away, even if they’re near the ocean. It’s only temporary, so don’t get comfortable. But it might be good for you to know.”
“Why didn’t you kill her while you had the chance?” Gary sagged in his chair, letting go of his neck.
“Kill her? I’m not like that.” Gary was honest, but did he have to be so blunt? “I know I’m supposed to be this natural born murderer, but—”
“At least her rule would have ended,” Mr. Deville said. “If she dies, maybe a Tempest with some morals could take her place. She has no heir, so I'm not sure who the Elder Council would choose.” He let out a breath and relaxed his grip. “My family’s got no room to talk, though. My mother took about five hundred lives when she changed in nineteen-fifty-nine and ripped through the Caribbean, and she doesn’t even care. At least, I don't think she does. You’ve heard of Hurricane Camellia, right? Before Andrina, that was the storm everybody talked about. It's not an easy fact to live with.” His words sounded as heavy as bricks.
“That…that’s awful.” Janelle leaned back again and closed her eyes. Compared to that, her dad seemed human. Ordinary.
Maybe she shouldn’t have left home after all. What if she’d made a mistake?
“So when did you find out about Tempests?” Mr. Deville asked.
Her teacher's voice forced her out of her thoughts. “Today. Gary told me.”
“That’s more of a notice than what I got. I found out what I was right after my mother sneaked up behind me and pushed me off the boat. I thought it was a fishing trip. I was twenty-one at the time. Though I did always wonder why she never let me try out for wrestling.”
“What’s Operation Reckoning?”
After a long, tense moment, Mr. Deville asked, “Where do you want me take you?”
“You didn’t answer my question. What is it? I think I ought to know since I’m the one needed for it.”
He stole a look back at her. “You’ve had enough bad news today, and you don’t need any more. I suggest you work on staying away from Andrina so that you never have to find out.”
Chapter Ten
