Hero's Revenge (Keepers of Justice, Book 2)

by Dee J. Stone

  She pulls the covers off and faces the door. Then she whips around and jumps onto my bed. Kisses me. I’m about to pull her close, but her mouth moves to my ear. “I’m not sorry I slept in your bed, either.” She marks a quick “X” on my lips. “Catch you later.” She vanishes.

  ***

  I enter my room after showering and tug on a pair of jeans. Stealth pops into the room. “Who’s your favorite villain?” she teases, reaching up to my lips.

  I laugh and pull her close. “Popping into my room without permission?”

  “You know you like it.”

  She’s right. I do.

  She stares at me. “What?” I ask.

  “You should smile more often. Looks good on you.”

  I pull her even closer so that our mouths are less than a centimeter apart. “You should do this more often.”

  She smiles. “That I can.” And she takes my chin and brings her lips to mine.

  I pull off. “Any contact from the Nightmares?”

  She frowns. “So serious again.”

  “Any?”

  “Nope.”

  I don’t know what to make of that. “When you fled with the others, did they say anything?”

  “Basically cursed the Keepers out. They were searching for us and we went into hiding. I don’t know why the Blades haven’t contacted us yet.” She bites her lip. “Do you think they suspect something?”

  I twirl a strand of her hair between my fingers. “I hope not.”

  “Let’s not think about this right now,” she says. “Wanna do something fun?”

  I’m not sure. I don’t think I can have fun. Not until the Blades are defeated. “What did Samson and Cindy say to you?”

  She takes my finger and frees her hair. “Again, so serious.”

  I look at her, waiting for an answer. She sighs. “They wanted to congratulate me on the good work and asked if I heard from the Blades. They stressed that I need to tell them everything, blah blah. Just like they said before.” She rolls her eyes. “They’re so worried. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

  I nod, but my insides fill with dread.

  Stealth touches my hair. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  She stares into my eyes. “Ray, I’ll be fine. Promise.”

  I don’t say anything as I gaze at my bed. Things have been going relatively well. When things go well, they eventually go bad. I don’t want anything to happen to her. Or to anyone.

  “Hey, let’s do something fun, okay? We’re sad because of the deaths, but we can’t let it eat us up.”

  She’s right. We live in a world with villains and these things happen all the time. It doesn’t make it okay or any easier, but we need to move on.

  “Alright,” I say. “What do you want to do?”

  She opens her mouth to say something, when there’s a knock on my door. Kale and Lindsay stand outside. I let them in and Stealth and I update them on what happened in the last twelve hours.

  “What happens now?” Lindsay asks.

  I shrug. “I guess we wait for the Nightmares to make contact.”

  “Until then,” Stealth says, locking her fingers through mine. “We were thinking of doing something fun. To forget about all of this for a bit.”

  “Good idea,” Kale says. “How about the pool?”

  We all agree.

  After dressing into my black trunks, I meet Kale and Lindsay outside. The mansion has two pools. One is located in the backyard for the summer and one inside for the winter. We head to the outdoor one.

  Many kids are already there. Kale and Lindsay are sitting on the edge, their toes poking the water. I don’t see Stealth anywhere.

  I sit down near them and dunk my feet inside. I used to come here a lot when summer started. Usually after midnight, because I liked my privacy. It was a great way to distract myself from Stretch’s death.

  Kale and Lindsay are talking about random things. TV, movies, news around the Tower. I listen for a little while, add a bit here and there.

  Stealth still hasn’t shown up.

  I stand up and dive inside. The water feels cool against my skin. Liberating. It’s the best feeling ever. Like nothing could hurt me.

  I break through the surface of the pool. Stealth is sitting with Kale and Lindsay, talking. Her toes dip into the water. She’s wearing a black shirt tucked into matching shorts. Not a bathing suit or bikini like the other girls. I wonder why, but can’t complain much, since she looks cute. I’d never admit that to her, though, since she hates being called cute.

  Slowly and carefully, I make my way toward them. Stealth is laughing at something Lindsay said. When I reach them, I grab Stealth’s leg and yank her into the pool. Letting out a small shriek, she collapses on top of me and we fall deep into the water.

  When we come up, she shoves at my chest, laughing. “You scared me!”

  “Punishment for making me wait for you.”

  She splashes water on me. “I went to check my phone.”

  “Anything?” I ask.

  She splashes me again. Harder. I’ll take that as a no.

  “Splash me one more time and I’ll—”

  “And you’ll what?” she asks, eyebrows raised. She lifts her hands and slams down on the water, spraying me.

  I make a move to grab her, but she zooms around the pool in her mist form. As the cloud approaches me, it gathers water. Soon an entire wave crashes over me and the other kids. They start complaining and yelling. Kale and Lindsay are soaked, too. They laugh.

  I reach for the mist, but she’s too fast and my hands close over nothing. She’s coming at me with another huge wave.

  Most of the kids flee the pool.

  Not me, though. Once again, I find myself spinning in the water.

  Stealth laughs as she shifts back into a human. “That was fun.”

  A feel a smile tug my lips. “Yeah, it was.”

  I look around. Most of the water is gone. The kids are around the pool, glaring at us. Air slaps her hands on her hips. “You think you could just come here and take over? We were here first. And we want our water back.”

  The other kids have annoyed expressions on their faces.

  “Sorry. My powers can’t refill the pool,” Stealth says. Her eyes flash to H2O, then back at Air. “Maybe your sister can help with that.”

  “Maybe she can,” Air says. “As long as you leave the pool.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Air opens her mouth to retort, but Kale gets up. “C’mon, guys. Don’t fight. H2O, refill the pool and let’s be civil, okay? We’re stuck together so we might as well get along.”

  “He’s right,” H2O says. The other kids agree.

  “Whatever,” Air mumbles.

  “But no more huge waves,” Furball says. “Some of us can’t swim that well.”

  “Okay. Sorry.”

  H2O raises her hands over the pool and water streams down from her palms. Once it’s full, everyone gets back inside. They keep to their end of the pool and we keep to ours. I look up at Kale and Lindsay. “Gonna come in?”

  Kale gets to his feet and cannonballs inside, splashing Stealth and me. Stealth returns the splash while I dunk his head into the water. He gasps and tries to dunk me, but I’m stronger.

  “Linds,” he pleads. “Help me.”

  She jumps into the pool, and the four of us have a splash-off. Soon the girls are on our shoulders and we try to knock each other down. Stealth and I are at a disadvantage, since they can communicate telepathically, but with Stealth’s power, we’re both invisible and she knocks Lindsay off with ease.

  “Man, what cheaters,” Kale mutters. We’re still invisible. Stealth slides off, grabs me, and kisses my lips. I hold onto her, running my hand through her wet hair.

  “Victory kiss, huh?” Kale says. I let go and look around. We’re no longer invisible. Must be due to Stealth’s inability to control her powers when she loses control of her emotions.
/>   “Carry on.” Kale waves his hand. “Even though you didn’t win fairly.”

  Some kids are watching us. Hell, I don’t care, and pull Stealth to me again.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  After the pool, the four of us separate to do our own things. I put on a pair of jeans and sit on my bed with my iPod and computer.

  A few seconds later, Stealth is on my bed. She’s wearing a T-shirt and miniskirt, which make her look sexy. And the way her wet hair sticks to her skin makes me want to—

  “Are you staring at me?” she demands.

  I force my eyes away from her body, to her face. She’s taunting, teasing, challenging. I cross my arms over my chest. “And what if I am?”

  She doesn’t say anything as her eyes slowly trek over my body. From my hair down my chest, to my jeans. My heart pounds and I try to not let her see how her intense gaze is affecting me.

  I’m sitting over the covers with my legs crossed. She stops at my toes, then makes her way back up my chest, to my face.

  “Your eyes don’t intimidate me,” I say.

  Her gaze meets mine. “Really? Then why is your breathing quickening?” Her hands skim over my bare chest. “And why’s your heart thumping?”

  I just stare at her. I won’t admit how much she’s driving me crazy.

  She squeezes my bicep. “Wow, and to think I owned you at boxing.”

  “You didn’t own me. You cheated.”

  “No, I didn’t,” she says.

  “You made me use my power. You cheated.”

  She shrugs. “I just mentioned my uncomfortable underwear. It’s not my fault you used your power.”

  I grab her shoulders and roll her on the bed. I sit on top of her legs so she can’t move and lower my mouth to her ear. “You cheated,” I whisper.

  She thrashes her legs, but can’t move much. She clutches my shoulders. “No, I didn’t. I won fairly. What have you been smoking?”

  The small smile I had on my face disappears. No one has made any drugs references to me. I don’t want Stealth of all people to remind me of my dark years.

  I climb off her and sit on the edge of my bed. My fingers grip my hair. Stealth places her hand on my shoulder. “What did I say?”

  I shake my head. “Doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters to you.”

  I shake my head again. She’s quiet. I turn to her. The expression on her face tells me she won’t let it go.

  “Sensitive topic for me,” I say.

  “Why?”

  I take in a deep breath. She’s had a hard life, but unlike me she wasn’t on a downward spiral. I don’t know what telling her will do to our…friendship.

  “Ray.” Her hand is on mine now. Slowly, I flip my hand around so our palms touch. Hers is so warm, so soft.

  “I started doing drugs when I lived on the streets. I was eleven.”

  She slides her fingers through mine and squeezes. “Tell me more. Everything.”

  I stare at the floor. “I ran away from home when I was eleven,” I say. “When I was little, my parents thought I was crazy because I was able to see things that weren’t there. They took me to doctors, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with me. My parents wouldn’t give up on trying to fix me. They would fight all the time. Eventually, I figured out that I could see through objects. When I told them, I thought they’d be relieved that I wasn’t crazy, just different. I thought they’d accept me. But they didn’t. I’d lie in bed and listen to my mom tell my dad that I wasn’t the child she always wanted. She wanted a normal son. My dad barely looked at me. Living with them was a nightmare, so I ran away. Met some guys living on the streets and stayed with them for about a year.” I stop and look at her. Her eyes are filled with care. She rubs my knuckles. “They were much older than me. Did drugs and got me into it. They committed crimes, mainly theft. It was innocent at first. Stealing to survive. But when I told them I could see through things, I became their number one thief. Robbed banks, stores, mansions. Anywhere money was located. I didn’t like it—it felt wrong. But since I was stuck with them and had nowhere to go, I had to obey them.”

  I pause again, keeping my gaze on our interlocked fingers.

  Stealth tugs my hand. “What happened next? You came here?”

  “No. One night, I told the guys I didn’t want to be part of it anymore. Sure they could have continued without me, but with my eyes, I was able to tell them where the money was located, the guards, the cameras. Not to mention if we were to get caught, they’d pin the blame on me. They were furious. Beat me up. I thought for sure I wasn’t going to survive.” I shut my eyes at the memory. Can still feel their fists pummeling my stomach. Stealth squeezes my hand. I continue, “But as the oldest guy was bashing my face in, he suddenly collapsed to the floor. One by one, the rest followed. I was too battered up to figure out what was going on and blacked out. The next morning I woke up in the sewers.” The memory of me lying on a bed, bandaged up, hits me. I was terrified and wanted to flee.

  “What’s in the sewers?”

  The guys in the sewers live in secrecy. Do I trust Stealth enough to tell her? I gaze at her. I do.

  I tell her about Scar finding me and using his telepathy to knock the guys out. He brought me to live with him. “They were the first people I met who had abilities. They told me they despised normies and most people with powers. Many had been abused or experimented on.”

  “Experimented on?”

  I nod. “Scar’s called Scar because of the scars he has over his body. Secret government organizations tore him open in an attempt to learn how his brain would handle it. To learn his weaknesses, his limits. Could his mind trick his body into thinking he wasn’t being ripped apart? After escaping, Scar gathered other misfits and created a home in the sewers. I was invited because I had no home.” I look at her. “He saved me, and for that I am always grateful.” Even after what he did to us, to Stretch, by removing his protection. I can’t hate the guy who saved my life.

  “I’m so sorry you went through all that,” Stealth says, stroking the side of my head with her free hand. “How did you end up here?”

  I take in a deep breath. “We were a family and cared for each other. Had each other’s backs, something I desperately needed—being with my own kind. We stole, but that was only to survive. We didn’t hurt anyone, not unless they started up with us. When I got there, I was messed up. Physically, mentally, socially. I was a drug addict. At age twelve.”

  I swallow. “I’d sneak out with some others to steal drugs. Scar tried to help me sober up, but it was hard. He worked with me every day, but I wasn’t making much progress. Living like sewer rats and stealing, it was easy to fall back into that stuff. I decided I needed to make changes. That maybe if I left and were to join the Keepers, I could fix myself.”

  “Was Scar mad you left?”

  “Some of the others were very upset, but Scar understood.”

  She doesn’t say anything, and we’re quiet.

  “After Stretch died,” I say, my voice weak. “I thought about returning to the sewers. Then I realized I don’t really want to leave. My life is better now than when I lived there.”

  Stealth moves closer to me and rests her head on my chest. “I’m glad you told me all of this.”

  I peer down at her. “This doesn’t change your opinion of me?”

  She presses her cheek to mine. “Yes. It makes me like you more.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Kale, Lindsay, Stealth, and I are in Samson’s office the next day. Stealth has just returned from a meeting with the Nightmares.

  She leans against the wall. “The Blades made contact. They were impressed and want to…” She makes air quotes. “‘Evaluate me a bit further,’ but I think they want me.”

  Kale holds his hand up to me for a high-five. I give him one.

  “Have you seen Vlayne?” Samson asks.

  She shakes her head. “Just that one Blade.”

  “What did he tell
you?”

  She sits down. “He marched around and glared at each one of us. They flinched. I tried not to show fear, but I was trembling on the inside.” She pulls her mask off her forehead and wipes it. “He stood before me for a long time. Staring, assessing. I kept a straight face throughout it all. He told me I didn’t belong amongst the group. Said they’re crap and I’m gold. That I deserve great things. I could accomplish so much. I have potential to be the strongest villain in the world. After their leader, of course.”

  Her worried eyes meet mine, then they move to Samson. He pats her shoulder. “You did well, Stealth. I’m proud of you. What happens next?”

  “I think they’re going to bring me to Vlayne.”

  Kale and I exchange a glance. This is it. My skin crawls. I want to go after her right now. Kale seems to want to do the same.

  Samson motions for us to relax. “We’ll need to figure this out carefully,” he says. “If you are indeed going to meet Vlayne, I won’t have you going alone.”

  Stealth nods. “Okay. I don’t think they’d take me to their headquarters yet.”

  “No, probably not,” Samson agrees. “But it’s a start.”

  “I just need to wait to be contacted,” Stealth says.

  “I’m proud of the four of you,” Samson says. “Though I do wish things would have been handled differently, I’m proud with your accomplishments.” He pats Stealth’s shoulder again. “Especially you, Stealth. Your courage is commendable.”

  She smiles a little.

  We’re so close to avenging Stretch and Glen’s deaths. I’ve been waiting four months for this moment. Now that it’s come, I’m a little scared, but I know things will go well. The Keepers will destroy the Blades, destroy Vlayne.

  And this time, there will be no successor. They will all die.

  ***

  Stealth and I are sitting on my bed. She’s got my earbuds in her ears and I’m playing with my cube. We haven’t said a word to each other since we left Samson’s office half an hour ago. I’m happy she’s going to join the Blades, but I’m also worried. What if it’s a trap? What if they learn who she is and kill her?