The Naturals Trilogy

by Madeline Freeman

  “I’m sorry,” Lia said abruptly, waving a hand. “Morgan, I know there are tons of things you want to know, and, Mrs. Abbey, I’m sure there are tons of things you want to tell, but, really, now’s not the best time. We came here because Tesin told us we could find Corbin here. He said we could find someone who would take us to him. I assume he meant you.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?” Morgan demanded, turning to Lia. “Why didn’t Tesin say it was her?”

  Lia shrugged. “I really don’t know, Morgan. Maybe his vision didn’t show him it was her. Or maybe it did and he had another reason for keeping it from you.”

  But Morgan’s attention waned. She turned back to Chelsea and just watched her for a moment, still not quite convinced what she was seeing was real. “Mom…”

  “Where’s Corbin?” Lia asked, steering the conversation when it was clear neither Morgan nor Chelsea was going to take control. “Tesin said he was here. Do you know where?”

  “I do.” Chelsea tore her gaze away from Morgan to look at Lia. She wiped beneath her eyes with the fingertips of her free hand. “He’s nearby. I couldn’t stand the idea of him being captured trying to rescue me. Morgan, I knew he must be important to you since he came with you to help. So, after I escaped, I knew the first thing I had to do was find him.” She touched Morgan’s cheek. “For you.” She pulled a cell phone out of her boot. “His location is on here. You can get to him on foot.”

  Lia looked at Chelsea dubiously. “Did you know we were coming or something?”

  She smiled. “I figured my daughter was the kind of person who would want to help her friends.” She placed the phone in Lia’s hand. “I’ve incapacitated the guards outside the building.”

  “How’d you manage that?” Lia asked.

  An expression flicked over Chelsea’s face so quickly, Morgan was sure she’d imagined it. “They weren’t expecting anyone to know where they were, so they were pretty unprepared. I simply used my abilities to subdue them. It wasn’t difficult. Now there are just two left inside for you to deal with.”

  Lia looked slightly horrified. “Deal with?”

  “You’re a Pusher, right?” Chelsea asked. Lia nodded weakly. “You can Push them so they don’t stop you.”

  “But…” Lia began.

  Morgan looked at her and smiled encouragingly. “Heightened emotional states, right? I’d say fear should fuel you through this one.”

  “You’re not coming with me?” Lia looked from Morgan to Chelsea and back again.

  “You’ll be faster and less conspicuous on your own,” Chelsea said. “Besides, I need Morgan here, with me. We have to take care of something.”

  Lia glanced at Morgan unsurely, but Morgan just smiled. “It’s okay. We’ll be fine.”

  “Yeah? What about me?” Lia asked, a note of hysteria rising in her voice.

  “You’ll be fine,” Chelsea said firmly. “I Know it.”

  There was a certain degree of finality with which she said it that Lia couldn’t argue with. After a moment, she nodded firmly and took the phone from Chelsea. After consulting the map, she offered Morgan a small smile and headed toward the door she and Morgan had entered through.

  “Mom,” Morgan asked, turning to Chelsea once Lia was out of sight, “what do we have to take care of?”

  Chelsea squeezed her fingers, a gentle pressure before she released them. She took a step away and closed her eyes, turning her face slightly from Morgan. “I’m so sorry I left you,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “But it was the only way.”

  Morgan felt a stinging in her nose, a prickling in her eyes. “Why, though?”

  “Orrick,” Chelsea said quietly. “When he realized the Prophecy was about you, he came to me. He wanted to take you then. I told him no. I didn’t want him to have anything to do with you. I was afraid how he’d try to use you… But he’s so much stronger than I am—Morgan, he could have taken you, and there would’ve been nothing I could’ve done about it. So, we struck a deal. If I left and broke off contact with you, he’d leave you alone. He promised he’d leave you alone.”

  Morgan’s mind spun, trying to process the information it was given. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “He didn’t want me to poison your mind about him, about the Veneret. You know I walked away from them. He didn’t want me to convince you to do the same.” She turned to Morgan, a pained look in her eyes. “I just wanted to keep you safe.”

  “Safe?” Morgan asked, feeling a heat building in her core. “Safe?” She stared at the woman before her, incredulous. “How were you supposed to keep me safe from—from wherever you’ve been? Do you even know what I’ve been through these last couple months?”

  “Yes, I know—I know. And I’m so sorry…”

  A wave of calm rushed over Morgan. She took in a breath and released it slowly. “Look, Mom, I don’t want to fight. You’re here now—that’s all that matters, right?”

  Chelsea offered a weak smile. “I wish it were all that mattered. But, Morgan, I can’t leave it like that. I’ve missed the last decade of your life, and he has to pay for it.”

  “He who? Orrick?” Morgan asked, confused. There was a marked change in the set of her mother’s face, an icy edge to her voice. The sudden alteration in Chelsea unsettled Morgan somewhat, and the calmness she felt moments before abated. “I mean, Orrick will pay, I guess. The whole Veneret will when we help the Watchers—”

  “No, Morgan,” Chelsea said, the corners of her mouth upturning just slightly, almost unnervingly. “We can make him pay for what he’s done now.”

  “Mom, what are you—”

  Chelsea held up a finger, indicating Morgan should give her time to explain herself. She walked back toward where she had originally appeared and vanished behind the tarp-covered mound. After a few seconds, there was a loud sound—a scraping and dragging of metal against concrete. Then Chelsea reappeared, followed closely by a gray folding chair in which sat the dark form of what Morgan assumed was a man. He wore a dark charcoal suit and his face was obscured by a black fabric bag. But Morgan realized she didn’t need for the bag to be removed to know whose visage it hid.

  “Orrick?” Morgan asked, half in disbelief, half in awe. “But… how?”

  Chelsea finished Moving the chair to a spot just a few feet in front of Morgan. “Suffice it to say, it’s taken a lot of time and careful planning, but—” She pulled the bag off, revealing the unconscious face of Orrick Williams. “—it’s certainly worth it.”

  Morgan stared at the man she hadn’t seen in person since the summer, the man who claimed to be her biological father. It struck her that she could ask Chelsea right now, settle the matter conclusively, but she hesitated.

  What if it’s true?

  She pulled her thoughts from down that dark road and turned her attention to her mother. “I don’t understand.” She glanced in Orrick’s direction. “Why…?”

  “I told you,” Chelsea said. “He has to pay for what he’s done.”

  Morgan stared at her mother. There was the iciness in her voice again, but it was more than that. There seemed to almost be a hint of glee just beneath the surface, like the idea of making Orrick pay brought her pleasure.

  Morgan wished Lia would hurry back with Corbin. In fact, she wondered what was taking them so long. What if something had gone wrong? Why hadn’t Morgan insisted she go with Lia? She pulled her phone out of her pocket with the vague notion of sending a text to Lia to check on her progress.

  Chelsea noticed the phone in her hand and seemed to sense what Morgan was thinking. “She’s fine,” she said, her voice once again musical. “She and Corbin should be back very soon.”

  But the phone remained in Morgan’s hand. “I should let the Watchers know where we are—let them know we’ve got Orrick.”

  Chelsea closed the distance between herself and Morgan and placed a firm hand over the screen of Morgan’s phone. “We can call them later. This we need to take care of without the
m. This is all about us, Morgan—about how Orrick tore our family apart and kept me away from you all these years.”

  Numbly, Morgan put her phone away. She nodded vaguely in her mother’s direction. “Yes,” she agreed, something in her mind feeling off, slower than usual. But something else in her mind assured her she needn’t worry about it.

  “You have to take his energy, Morgan,” Chelsea said in her musical voice. “It’s the only way. We can end this all now. He can pay for what he’s done, and we can end everything he and the Veneret have planned. You want that, don’t you?”

  “Of course.” Morgan’s tongue felt thick in her mouth. “But—”

  “But what?” Chelsea asked, the icy edge creeping back into her words. “This is the way it has to be, Morgan. You have to take his energy—all of it. That’s the only way you’ll be able to defeat him, the only way you’ll be strong enough.”

  Something about Chelsea’s words was coolly logical, and Morgan found herself agreeing with her sentiments. Yet still doubt lingered. “Why can’t… Why can’t you do it?”

  “Because I’m not the One,” Chelsea said, her tone steely. “You’re the only one who can end it all, Morgan. You have to.”

  Morgan looked at the man seated before her. Whatever had caused him to be unconscious seemed to be wearing off. His head began to move back and forth slowly, his chin still on his chest. If there was any person on the planet she could hate absolutely, this was the man. He was the antithesis of everything Morgan stood for. He had broken up her family and kept her motherless for more than half of her life. He turned people who could be decent human beings into subjects who would do his bidding, no matter the cost.

  He deserved this.

  Morgan glanced at her mother, ready to tell her she was right, but something stopped her. Out of the corner of her eye, where Orrick sat, something was off. She flicked her attention fully back to him, but everything was in its place, exactly as it should be. She couldn’t even put her finger on what had been wrong.

  Orrick let out a low moan, his head struggling to right itself on his neck.

  “Do it now!” Chelsea insisted, a note of urgency in her voice. “Before he’s fully conscious! Morgan, it’s the only way.”

  Morgan knew it was true. She even took a step closer to Orrick’s stirring form. But she found she couldn’t take the final step—she couldn’t reach out with her mind and grab hold of Orrick’s energy. As right as it was to do it, as true as it felt in her conscious thoughts, something deeper within her still resisted.

  What would the Watchers think if she did it? Or Joss? Lia? Corbin? Lucas?

  But what would Chelsea think if she didn’t?

  Orrick groaned again, finally managing to lift his head. His eyes opened in two slits and closed again quickly, squinting against the light of the room. When he opened them again a few moments later, he managed to focus on the scene in front of him.

  “Morgan,” he rasped. “Morgan, no… Don’t…”

  “Do it now!” Chelsea demanded.

  “Morgan,” Orrick said again, his voice stronger this time. “Please…”

  Rage swelled within Morgan. Please? What right had this man to request anything from Morgan, least of all mercy? If he’d had his way, Morgan would have started taking the energy of others back in Desideration Tower, and now, suddenly, he didn’t want her to take it? Why was he more important than that common girl had been? Because he was Veneret? Or because he was the great and mighty Orrick Williams?

  She fixed her eyes on his, willing herself to push into his mind. With the rage fueling her, she knew he could be no match for her in his current condition. She would take his energy.

  She would take all of it.

  Morgan edged closer to him, taking in slow, even breaths to prepare herself for what would come next. She let herself Feel the bright glow of his energy and was momentarily taken aback at how familiar it seemed. But she shook it off—she had, after all, spent time with him last summer. Of course he should Feel familiar. But something told her it was more than that.

  Then it happened again—something in her vision shifted. She saw something that couldn’t be.

  The charcoal of Orrick’s suit pants looked blue—dark blue. Like dark blue jeans. She blinked and everything was suddenly as it should be once more.

  She glanced back at her mother for reassurance, but another sound distracted her. She turned in the opposite direction of her mother and saw two figures entering the room.

  Her heart swelled at the sight of Corbin, his weight supported by Lia, as the two of them walked slowly toward her. Lia was positively beaming, clearly proud of herself. Corbin managed a broad grin, wincing somewhat as he locked eyes with Morgan. But then, suddenly, he stopped moving, jerking Lia to a stop along with him.

  “What…”

  Morgan didn’t give him a chance to formulate a question. “My mom, Corbin!”

  “But… What’s Orrick doing here?” He started toward Morgan again, taking his arm from Lia’s shoulders and taking painstakingly slow steps forward.

  “It ends here, now,” Chelsea said firmly.

  Morgan glanced at her mother, surprised by her tone. Was it possible Chelsea wasn’t entirely pleased to see Lia and Corbin at this moment? No, Morgan told herself. That couldn’t be it. Of course it couldn’t. Still, there was something almost strained in her mother’s face for a moment.

  Then Lia was talking. “Of course. It has to end now.”

  After a moment, Corbin nodded his agreement as well. “Well, go on, Morgan. End it.”

  Morgan smiled at them, heartened by the fact that they understood what she had to do. They understood she had to take Orrick’s energy to stop him.

  But something in the back of Morgan’s mind told her they couldn’t understand that—it hadn’t been explained to them yet.

  Nevertheless, Morgan turned back to Orrick and reached forward with her mind again.

  “Morgan,” Orrick said again, his voice more panicked this time. “Don’t do it. It’s not… It’s not what you think!”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Chelsea insisted. “He’s trying to confuse you, Morgan. It’s what he does. He lies.”

  “She’s lying.” Orrick’s voice was strained.

  “Why would my mother lie to me?” Morgan demanded, raising her chin defiantly. “You’re the only one who’s lied to me. But you won’t be able to lie to anyone after today.”

  “She’s… She’s not—” Abruptly, Orrick lost consciousness again, his chin dropping to his chest.

  Morgan glanced at her mother, confused.

  “It’s okay, baby,” Chelsea said, her voice soft and reassuring. “You just do what you have to do.” She smiled, urging Morgan on with wide, blue eyes.

  Morgan closed her own eyes. Blue eyes.

  Something was wrong, but she couldn’t place it. She knew it, felt it, but it was like trying to make out a dark shape on a pitch black night. Her mind could find no contrasts. She heard a shuffling behind her and realized Corbin had reached her. She pictured his face—his handsome, earnest face—and his eyes. His bright, green eyes. And Lia, with her soft cocoa skin and her warm, golden brown eyes. Then Lucas’s face came to her—thin and bright, eager, with light, light blue eyes. And then Joss—her wavy brown hair and brown eyes. Morgan had always been jealous of Joss’s looks. Why? It took a moment for the answer to come to her. She remembered being out with her mother and Joss once, back when she and Joss were only five or six. A stranger had commented about how lovely Morgan and Joss were—about what lovely daughters Chelsea had. And about how much Joss looked like Chelsea. She had the same hair.

  And the same eyes.

  But Morgan’s eyes were blue, like Dylan’s. She’d inherited her light hair and eyes from her father. She didn’t look like her mother at all.

  Morgan opened her eyes again and looked at the woman before her. The woman with blue eyes.

  Chelsea’s face was concerned. “Morgan, what—”
She stopped herself and took in a deep breath. Blinked deliberately.

  And her eyes were brown again.

  Morgan took a step back, almost colliding with Corbin. She groped behind her and found his hand. Then she reached blindly with her free hand, flailing around until Lia’s soft, small hand found its way into hers. “No,” Morgan said, her voice louder than she had anticipated. “You’re not her.”

  The woman before her looked confused. “Morgan? I have no idea what you mean.”

  Morgan closed her eyes and squeezed Corbin’s and Lia’s hands as tightly as she could manage. “No!” She screamed the word, and it reverberated on the walls around them and bounced back, hitting her like a shockwave.

  When she opened her eyes again, the scene had changed. The woman was no longer the image of Morgan’s mother. Instead, a woman with thick, wavy blond hair and blue eyes stood where Chelsea had been, wearing the same clothes. Morgan recognized her as Aurelia. And in the metal chair beside her there was no longer an older man in a suit, but a younger man in dark blue jeans and a tight-fitting tee-shirt. Even though his face wasn’t fully visible, Morgan knew who he was.

  Kellen.

  A slow clap began to build, echoing slightly in the vastness of the room. Morgan turned her head from left to right in an attempt to see where the sound was coming from, but to no avail. The clapping just continued, increasing in speed and joined by a deep, hearty laugh.

  “Who’s doing that?” Lia whispered in Morgan’s ear.

  Morgan was about to say she had no idea when the person revealed himself. He wore the exact charcoal suit Morgan saw when Kellen had worn his appearance only moments before.

  Orrick Williams stepped out from behind a large stack of shipping crates, still clapping and smiling broadly.

  “I’ll say, Morgan,” he said, his clapping finally ceasing, “well done. Aurelia was sure you wouldn’t be able to see beyond her Pushing.” He glanced at the blond. “I told you not to underestimate her, didn’t I?”

  Aurelia gave Orrick a sour look. “I was doing just fine until those two showed up,” she said, indicating Corbin and Lia with an inclination of her head. “I thought your men would be keeping them occupied.”