Mr. K remained standing in the center of the room, and Morgan was irresistibly reminded of JY class—except she’d never seen Mr. K look quite so angry at school.
“I can’t believe how incredibly reckless you’ve behaved,” Mr. K said, his voice quiet and steady.
Morgan was quick to defend herself. “Come on, Mr. K. We had to do it. We had to save Corbin—”
“And why did Corbin need saving in the first place?”
Morgan gaped at him. “We were trying to save my mom. Orrick had her—”
“No, he didn’t,” he said sharply. “He never did. Morgan, you’re so smart. How can you still not see it? The Veneret are counting on you to be irresponsible when it comes to your mother. That’s why it was so easy for Tesin to manipulate you.”
“We thought he was on our side,” Lia said, coming to Morgan’s aid.
“Yeah,” Morgan agreed. “Wen told me he’s a Watcher.”
“Tesin’s been compromised,” Mr. K said.
“Understatement,” Corbin muttered.
“Why do you think the information he fed you didn’t come through us?” Miss Scotford asked.
“He told me you were blocking him,” Morgan said. “He said he tried to go through you, but—”
Miss Scotford sighed. “Why would we block him if he really had information you needed to know?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time you kept something from me.”
Wen stood, aiming a kick at a nearby end table. “You still don’t see it, do you?” he snapped with more venom than Morgan had ever heard in his voice. “This is why we kept trying to get you to stop. You put yourself and your friends in danger and you’re still mad at us?”
“You can’t really blame her,” Joss said quickly. “I mean, it’s not her fault she’s a little illogical about her mom—”
“And you’re no better, helping her,” Wen said, cutting her off. “The Veneret could never have set Morgan up like that if you hadn’t helped her try to find Chelsea. You were like a beacon in the night. No wonder they knew what they knew.”
Mr. K put up a hand to silence Wen. “I just don’t see how you still can’t believe we have your best interests at heart. I can’t see why, when Tesin came to you with this information, you wouldn’t tell me or Ellie or Wen.” He softened. “Morgan, I can’t impress on you enough how important you are—how important all of you are. And the Veneret came very close to capturing you last night. Do you have any idea what kinds of things Orrick will make you do if he gets his hands on you?”
Morgan felt tears burn her eyes. “You don’t understand—they made me do it. They had Corbin—”
“You’re telling me they forced your hand?” Mr. K asked.
“Yes!”
“There’s no need to force someone’s hand if nobody else is playing.” He sighed. “You can’t play into their hands, Morgan. That’s what we’ve been trying to avoid all this time.”
“We almost lost you last night,” Miss Scotford said quietly. “They clearly had this planned out. They had nearly every member of the Veneret in the state cloaking your location. We almost didn’t find you in time. We wouldn’t’ve found you at all if…” She broke off, sighing.
“From now on,” Mr. K said, not waiting for his counterpart to finish her thought, “you have to trust us. We’re not doing anything to punish you. We’re doing everything we can to keep you safe and make you strong so you can fulfill your destiny.”
Morgan yawned, the enormity of the previous day’s events suddenly bearing down on her. “Can we save the destiny talk for later? Like when we get back home? I mean, what? We’re gonna sleep here and then head back to—”
Mr. K looked at Morgan quizzically. “We’re not leaving here. If there’s one thing the last twenty-four hours has solidified for us, it’s that Orrick’s not waiting anymore. Your homes are no longer safe.”
“Wait—we’re staying here?” Lia demanded, her voice a half octave higher than usual.
Mr. K nodded. He pointed down the hallway to his left. “There are rooms for you down there. Now, I recommend you all go get settled, and maybe get a little rest before tomorrow.”
Morgan exchanged glances with Corbin, Lucas, Lia, and Joss. “What happens tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow is when you five start learning to be warriors.”
Without another word, Mr. K, Miss Scotford, and Wen all walked toward the hallway opposite the one Mr. K indicated.
As soon as the adults were out of the room, Morgan felt the attention shift to her. She picked a spot on the carpet before her and addressed it as she spoke. “This is my fault,” she said quietly. “Everything that’s happening, it’s all because of me. And now we can’t even say goodbye to our families. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
No one responded. After a few moments, one by one, they stood and walked toward their hallway, leaving Morgan alone on the couch. She buried her face in her hands and allowed a few tears to wet her skin before brushing them away. She would make it up to them all—she had to. It was true that they were all in this mess because of her. From this moment on, she decided, she would be worth it. She would listen to Wen, Mr. K, and Miss Scotford, believing they had her best interests at heart. With this resolve firmly in her mind, she straightened, wiping any errant tears from her face.
Warriors weren’t supposed to cry.
Morgan stood, squared her shoulders, and walked toward the hallway. It had been months since she was first told she was the One, but in this moment, she chose to accept it. As she moved forward, Morgan decided it was time to take hold of her destiny.
Becoming
Chapter One
An explosion erupted between Morgan’s ears. She opened her eyes to reveal near-total blackness. The dim light of stars filtered through the bedroom’s one window.
“What’s happening?” asked Corbin Starling, his voice thick with sleep.
Morgan Abbey sat up in bed, her hands involuntarily going to her ears to press them closed against the noise. It didn’t work. The sound was not external but internal—an alarm meant to alert only certain people. She knew this, but no matter how many times Ellie Scotford had projected the sound, Morgan couldn’t help putting her hands up.
Seeming to rouse more fully, Corbin sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “You think it’s another drill?” he asked, his voice cutting through the alarm.
“Dunno. But we should—”
“Yeah.”
They stood and made their way carefully but quickly through the dark room. Morgan took the lead, having more experience navigating the room with no lights on.
There was already movement in the hallway, and Morgan could sense rather than see that Lia Roderick was already out of her room. Moments later, Lucas Kenrick and Morgan’s cousin, Jocelyn Rochester, joined them.
Once the hallway opened into the living room, there was more light, but only because there were more windows to allow in starlight. Greg Kment stood in the room, anxiety radiating off him in waves. In that moment, Morgan realized this wasn’t a drill.
“Quick, to the kitchen,” Greg said as the siren in Morgan’s head died away.
No one hesitated. They had practiced these maneuvers several times in the two months since they’d arrived at the cabin, but there had never been such tension in the air as there was now.
Ellie was already in the kitchen. Greg followed the five and pushed past them as they crowded around the island in the center of the room. Usually, Greg would defer to Joss, allowing her to use her abilities as a Mover to click the correct pins within the island into place, but tonight there appeared to be no time to indulge her in a second or third try. Within seconds, the two center cupboards retracted, revealing a large rectangular hole with a firehouse-type pole on one side and a stark metal ladder on the other.
Wordlessly, they arranged themselves into their well-practiced order. Ellie went to the pole-side of the hole. Sitting on the floor and swinging her legs into the void, she grabb
ed onto the pole and slid down. Then Lucas took her place at the top. Meanwhile, Lia went to the ladder-side and began her descent. Lia didn’t slide down poles.
After Lucas disappeared, Morgan replaced him at the pit’s entrance. Though she always promised herself she wouldn’t do it, she couldn’t help glancing down into the blackness as she sat at the edge. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath as she grabbed for the pole. Then, with the wonted swoop of anticipation low in her belly, she slipped off the cool tile and into the emptiness.
She always meant to count on the way down, but the thrill of falling inevitably ripped the notion from her mind. She held the bar loosely in her hands and between her legs and forced herself to open her eyes to see the flashing red lights that would indicate the ground was near. When finally the lights came into view, she gripped the pole more tightly with her thighs to slow her progress. An instant later, her feet hit the padded landing area with a dull thud. For a moment, she just stood there, trying to regain her sense of equilibrium. Then a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her backwards. She stumbled into the firm body of the one who held her.
“Watch out,” Lucas said. “Stay there too long, you’re likely to get flattened.”
As if to illustrate his point, a moment later, Joss came careening down the pole, landing in spot Morgan had been occupying.
“Death by Jocelyn,” Morgan muttered. “Not a way I’d wanna go.”
Lucas breathed a laugh in her ear before releasing her.
Joss composed herself quickly and walked to where Ellie stood, near the circular steel hatch that led to a tunnel that would provide their escape from the area. Morgan followed her.
“What’s going on?” Joss asked, a slight edge of panic in her voice.
“Possible perimeter breach,” Ellie said.
Morgan felt her pulse quicken. “Do you think the Veneret—”
“I don’t know.” Ellie’s fingers brushed the keypad that would unlock the hatch. Suddenly, her body tensed. She closed her eyes and Morgan realized what was happening: another Seer was communicating with Ellie, directly into her mind.
Another dull thud. Morgan looked to the landing site and saw Corbin. He caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back.
“Okay,” Ellie said, capturing Morgan’s attention once again. “It was a false alarm. Just some campers who got lost.” She closed her eyes again, and Morgan heard a solitary bell resonate within her mind—the all-clear signal.
An exasperated noise sounded and Morgan and Joss jogged over to the metal ladder. Lia was only about ten feet from where they stood.
“Now I’ve gotta climb all the way back up,” Lia muttered darkly, stopping her downward progress and beginning her ascent.
“We all have to,” Joss called, grabbing onto the ladder’s rungs and starting to climb.
“But I just climbed all the way down,” Lia grumbled, her voice sounding quieter than before.
Lucas joined Morgan at the foot of the ladder. “Well, if you’d just slide down the pole…”
“I will not slide down the pole.”
Lucas laughed. “After you,” he offered, sweeping a hand toward the ladder.
“You can go ahead,” Morgan insisted. “I’m still a little shaky from the ride down.”
“Shaky?” Lucas asked, sounding incredulous. “It’s exhilarating.” He wagged his eyebrows and began to climb.
Morgan felt warm hands on her hips and sighed as she sank back into the warmth of Corbin’s chest. “Helluva way to wake up.”
“No joke. I wonder what time it is.”
“It’s almost two o’clock,” Ellie said from behind them. “You two’d better start climbing.”
It took several minutes to reach the surface. Not for the first time, Morgan wondered why their escape route couldn’t contain an elevator.
When Morgan finally emerged in the kitchen, she saw that Greg, Lucas, and Lia were standing in the living room, speaking in hushed tones. She stood at a distance, just watching them. It was far too late and she was far too weary to be interested in what they were discussing. She glanced down the hallway toward their bedrooms and watched as Joss exited the bathroom and crossed to the room the two of them ostensibly shared. She wondered how much longer Lucas and Lia would be up just as Lia split off from the group and headed down the hallway.
“You staying up?” Corbin asked, appearing at Morgan’s side.
“No.” The two of them followed Lia down the hall. They paused outside Corbin’s room and Corbin kissed Morgan’s cheek before she continued toward the bathroom.
“Crazy night, huh?” Lia asked, standing in her open bedroom doorway.
Morgan paused, her hand on the bathroom doorknob. “Absolutely.”
For a moment, Lia looked as if she were trying to formulate something to say. But then, she just gave a weak smile and murmured, “Goodnight, Morgan. Sleep well.”
It was not lost on Morgan that Lia’s fingertips went to the tiny cross that rested in the hollow of her neck as she spoke. “You too,” she said, going into the bathroom.
Morgan turned on the warm water and let it run over the insides of her wrists, closing her eyes and taking in a few deep, measured breaths. The adrenaline that had spiked upon first hearing Ellie’s warning alarm was just now beginning to ebb. She should go back to her bed, she knew she should, but she also knew that if she did, she would most likely awake gasping in less than an hour’s time. Since they’d arrived at the cabin, more nights a week than not, Morgan had nightmares. Once awake, she could never quite pinpoint what they were about, but the emotions remained. And once she woke from the nightmare, she found she couldn’t fall asleep again, not on her own. Thus began her nearly nightly pilgrimages to Corbin’s room.
As much as the logical side of her brain told her she should go back to her own room, her own bed, the emotional side wouldn’t hear of it. She’d already had too much excitement for the night.
Morgan turned the water off, her ear keenly attuned to the sounds in the hallway. When she was sure she’d heard Lucas enter his bedroom, she eased her way out of the bathroom and tiptoed toward Corbin’s room. She placed her hand on his doorknob and turned it slowly. When she could turn it no more, she pushed the door open on silent hinges. Just as she was about to slide into the room, she heard a click down the hall. She turned to see Lucas standing just outside his bedroom door. He wore an inscrutable expression. After a moment, he inclined his head ever so slightly before heading toward the bathroom.
She watched him go. After he’d closed the bathroom door behind him, she entered Corbin’s room and closed the door behind her. In the near-blackness, she wove her way around the furniture and other hazards on the floor until she found the bed. Wordlessly, she climbed in beside Corbin. He stirred only slightly and put an arm around her abdomen. With a sigh, Morgan turned on her side so her back was against Corbin’s front and closed her eyes.
Chapter Two
Despite the excitement during the night, Morgan woke with the birds the next morning. Extricating herself from beneath Corbin’s arm as gently as she could, she got out of bed and crossed silently to the door. She paused a moment, her hand on the doorknob, listening for sounds of life in the hallway. She didn’t want to run into anyone this morning. In fact, she hoped to put off seeing Lucas for as long as she could, in case he wanted to confront her about her sleeping arrangements. A fist clenched around her stomach at the thought of Lucas asking her why she was sneaking into Corbin’s bedroom instead of the one she was supposed to be sharing with Joss. Though nothing scandalous was occurring, something about talking it over with Lucas that made her uneasy.
Satisfied that there was no one in the hallway, Morgan exited the room. Stealthily, she crept toward the bathroom.
It was not only to avoid curious eyes that Morgan woke so early. With five people sharing one shower, she found early morning the best time to have uninterrupted time in the bathroom.
Closing the door behind her, Mor
gan turned toward the sink to pull out her personal basket of toiletries from under it. As she straightened, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She wrinkled her nose as she assessed the state of her hair: the vibrant red it was dyed had faded and now looked more strawberry blond—except approximately two inches of roots, which were solid blond.
Turning from the mirror, she made her way to the tub. If she waited too long, someone would come knocking before she even began.
After a shower that didn’t last nearly long enough, Morgan dried off and dressed. She could Feel that she was no longer the only one awake. As she walked down the hallway, she Felt that something was wrong. There was a tension in the air, as palpable as a blanket being cast around her shoulders as she entered the room.
Wen, Ellie Scotford’s younger brother, stood by the couch, Lia and Joss in front of him. He had left the cabin at least a week ago, and he was looking worse for the wear. Whenever anyone asked where Wen was going and what he was doing while away from the cabin, answers were evasive at best. But he’d never looked quite this bedraggled upon his return. He sported a rather full and surprisingly red beard, and his blond hair was shaggy and dark with the accumulation of several days’ worth of oil and grime.
“How can you be so sure?” Lia asked, an icy edge to her voice.
Even more curious, Morgan approached the group. Lia generally got along very well with Wen.
“I promise you,” Wen said, his tone even, “everything that can possibly be done is being done to ensure their safety.”
“But, if what you’re saying is true, that might not be enough.” A line formed between Joss’s eyebrows as she spoke. “Clearly the Veneret are stronger than—well than I gave them credit for. I dunno, maybe you expected something like this the whole time.”
Wen shook his head. “This is beyond even what we thought.”
The Naturals Trilogy Page 40
