The students were scattered everywhere, but most realized an escape from a secret facility in the middle of the forest needed more thought than just running. It didn't take as much power as I'd imagined to connect with everyone. I offered a gentle push for them all to listen and respond.
"I am Sam. I escaped once and have come back to help. Friends are coming with vehicles and supplies, but I need you all to come to me and stay calm and orderly while we sort it all out. Guards, look around. Your leader is dead. You've lost, and more of you will die if you don't walk away."
The fighting stopped, and they came. Not as zombies, but as free members of society, though society didn't even know they existed.
As if on cue, icy rain broke from the heavens. It poured down so hard, it subdued the fires and eventually put them out.
When Brad and his people arrived, Luke, Lucy and I had organized everyone into groups with team leaders and jobs. Some groups were assigned to clear buildings and retrieve the bodies of the dead and wounded. Other groups were responsible for gathering research material and secret information, using the codes and keys Higgins had given Lucy to access the safes.
So much loss of life. And who could say for sure where the lines of good and evil lay? No single person was all one or the other. So how did we decide which actions to place on the scale of good and evil?
I chose to look at how they'd spent their last moments of life.
***
The familiarity of Brad's embrace sent me into another round of tears. No one had seen Drake, and his body hadn't been found.
"We'll find him." Brad took of his jacket and draped it over my shivering shoulders. "In the meantime, there's someone I think you should meet."
An elderly priest in cleric robe got out of the car and came to me. "You must be Sam."
He held out his hand, but I reached over it to hug him instead. "Father Patrick, it's so good to finally meet you, but you shouldn't have come here. It's still very dangerous."
The father's smile was infectious, even in midst of such bitter sadness. "Do not worry for me. The Lord is my keeper and He alone decides the time and place of our reunion, does he not? But I'm not here to give a sermon. We've brought buses for the kids, and I have a safe haven for them lined up until we sort all of this out."
I marveled at all he and Brad had done, but a man and woman dressed in suits walked up to us before I could thank the priest.
The man held out his hand to me, and I shook it. "I'm Agent Morrison, and this is Agent Simmons."
I raised my eyebrow at Brad. He'd involved law enforcement? I couldn't decide if this was really great news, or really dreadful news.
"Sam, these are the people who sent the mysterious email. They work for a secret arm of an intergovernmental agency created, in part, to stop Rent-A-Kid from becoming too powerful: I.P.I., International Paranormal Investigations. They helped us put together the resources we needed to get your guys out, and they want our help in taking down the entire origination from the top."
Agent Morrison's mind opened up instantly to my mental touch. 'I know you can read my mind, Sam, so you'll know I'm telling the truth. We're here to help. We can discuss all the details later. In the meantime, we're taking your friends and fellow students to a property owned by the Church and run by Father Patrick. We assumed that would be a more comfortable solution for all of you while we get to know each other?'
I nodded and called to Lucy. I could read minds, sure, but sometimes a lie detector is better to have around. For me to tell if someone was lying, I had to dig. She knew instantly.
She walked over with Luke in tow. "Can you read these guys for me?"
We had both agents make several statements of intent about what they planned for us and whether they intended to hurt us—intentionally or otherwise.
"They're on the up and up. We've got some seriously injured kids here. Did you guys happen to bring any medical personnel with you?"
Agent Simmons got on her walkie-talkie, and within a minute or two several ambulances drove up with E.M.T.s ready to get to work. I'd never seen so many vehicles around our school.
One medic noticed my hand and pulled me away from the group.
Lucy stayed beside me as the woman had me sit on the back of her ambulance, where she unwrapped my makeshift bandage. "This is a pretty bad burn. How'd it happen?"
I told her, leaving out all the painful details.
Lucy arched her eyebrow.
"I'll tell you later, Luce. Just know, the Seeker is dead."
Her eyes filled with tears, which I did not expect. "I believe you. We have so much to talk about."
"How far along are you?" The medic palpated my stomach and held a stethoscope to it.
"Um... I guess I'm... four months along. I'm not sure."
"You look big for only four months. Are you sure?"
Lucy glared at her and the woman shrugged. "You'll need to have a full psychical as soon as possible. And regular prenatal appointments, if you want a healthy baby."
Somehow prenatal appointments hadn't been high on my list of things to do with people trying to kill or imprison me, but I promised I would follow up.
She smeared ointment on my hand and wrapped it in clean gauze. "This is a third-degree burn. You need to get it checked out immediately."
I promised, and headed back onto the school campus.
Lucy grabbed my arm. "Where you going, Chica? We need to get out of here."
"I have to find Drake. He's not with any of the students, so he must be on the campus. He could be trapped or hurt. I have to get to him."
"Okay, but let me at least get Luke to help."
I waited while she found her brother.
The three of us searched every room, every hallway, every soggy, burned-out area. No Drake.
My feet and hand and... just about every part of me hurt so much, but I couldn't stop. Waterlogged, frozen to the bone despite Brad's jacket, and nearly delirious from exhaustion and pain, I kept looking.
Luke pulled me into another hug. "Sam, we've got to go. He's not here. Not anymore."
Some of the buildings had been burned so badly. There might be remains....
Brad's new government friends promised to launch a full investigation and sort out the bodies, but they made it clear anyone not alive and accounted for had likely perished in the fires.
I would never accept that story.
Drake was not dead, and I would find him.
He had to know. He had to understand.
The Seeker gave me one last gift before he died, and while I didn't know what it all meant, I knew one thing clearly.
I could restore Drake's powers.
Chapter 36 – Sam
Winter winds howled in the distance as we crowded into the abandoned cathedral. Father Patrick had found this sacred place for us to honor our friends who had fallen—a place off the grid, for those who still had nightmares of being captured and imprisoned.
I.P.I. had needed the remains for autopsies. No bodies meant no burials, so we decided to have a mass memorial service instead.
Each day my baby grew bigger, and my black dress now stretched to the point of almost tearing. I rested my hand on her as she wiggled around inside me.
Drake's body had not been found, alive or... the other. Everyone assumed the fire consumed him, but I could feel in my heart, if not my mind, that he still lived, somewhere. He just chose not to come home to me, to us—which was almost worse.
I understood his reasons, to a degree, but couldn't forgive him for abandoning me while pregnant with our child, nor could I forgive myself for what I'd done to him.
Brad, Luke and Lucy slid into my aisle and flanked me in a show of friendship and support. Greg and Gary also joined us in our row. I'd gotten to know them a bit, since our escape, and was impressed by how much they had done for the cause. They gripped each other's hand tightly in shared grief. I envied them that connection, that intimacy.
Everything had change
d, even my friends. I suppose I had too. Our carefree days had ended the moment Rent-A-Kid kidnapped Drake and impregnated me.
Father Patrick stood at the podium to begin the service. "Each of you has lost someone you loved or cared for. The loss of a human life is never an easy burden to bear, and the loss of so many young lives is nearly impossible to comprehend. We all come from different spiritual practices and beliefs, but today we are unified in our grief, and in our celebration of the lives of our friends and loved ones."
Organ music played in the background as the priest talked about sacrifice, justice, and right and wrong. My mind wandered to the night we all escaped and the Seeker died. I racked my brain for any sign I could have done something differently, something that wouldn't have resulted in Drake leaving.
Many photographs lined the front of the church: kids I'd grown up with, teachers who'd shaped my education in small and large ways, Higgins, with his no-nonsense approach to everything, Mary, with her toothy grin—her death lay especially heavy on my soul.
They'd insisted Drake's picture be put up with the others.
I refused to look at it, refused to believe he was dead.
But one picture, one loss, I carried in my heart alone, to grieve in private. Only Lucy came close to understanding my sadness at the Seeker's death.
The service ended, and Lucy held my unburned hand as we left the building. A familiar profile caught my eye. I turned, but he was gone before I could be sure.
Still, in my heart I knew.
Drake had been here.
He was alive, and I would find him.
Chapter 37 – Drake
Drake slipped out of the church before anyone could spot him. Seeing Sam nearly tore his chest apart. He wanted to touch her so badly, to talk to her and hold her and tell her everything would be okay, but he couldn't.
How could he go to her a broken man, with nothing to offer her or their child? Until he could mend himself and his shattered mind, he had nothing to give them. They were better off without him.
He knew he spun these lies to protect himself from his cowardice, but he didn't care. His mind held a tentative grasp on reality these days—the destruction of his power had robbed him of some of his mental faculties as well.
He couldn't let Sam or her friends see him like this.
***
Drake drove until the tremors took over his body once more. He stopped at a gas station and locked himself in the bathroom. Whatever sickness or poison had laid claim to his body, his body pushed it out through both ends, leaving him weak as a kitten and unable to move.
Each day, his symptoms became more extreme.
Fear and anger battled in him like two demons fighting for control of his body. He leaned his head against the cool bathroom tiles and tried to fill his mind with something—anything—other than Sam.
He had to get his powers back, one way or another.
Acknowledgements
Writing the second book in a series is much harder than writing the first, but I think this book turned out so much better than I expected, in no small part to some amazing people in my life.
First and foremost, Dmytry Karpov. My love, my best friend and the first and last person to read, beta, edit and review my work. He also spent countless hours helping me brainstorm and outline. I used to be a pantser, but he (and Patti Larsen) have turned me into a plotter. Thank you, Honey, for all your hard work, perseverance, patience, and help with everything from my book to the kids to the housework. I love you.
Speaking of Patti Larsen, she is another awesome YA author who taught me how to outline, dropped everything to read my book and edit and beta, and held my hand when I panicked and didn't think I could make my deadline. You rock, sister of the words!
I'm also blessed to have the most awesome publishing team a girl could ask for. Evolved Publishing not only does everything they can to meet the demands of my insane publishing schedule, but they make me laugh, keep me sharp, and improve my writing in the process. A special thanks to my editors, Lane Diamond (also an extraordinary author and co-founder of Evolved) and John Anthony Allen, for spending hours and hours and hours on my book! You guys are the best!!!! (I added those extra exclamation points in there just to drive them a bit nuts.)
Finally, to my family. My little girls for always sharing me with my computer. My parents for always believing in me. My brother and sister for cheering me on, and Jan, who is like a sister, for supporting me in every way you can imagine.
I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have such loving, wonderful and supportive people around me.
And to Sam, for speaking to me in my dreams and begging me to write her story.
About the Author
Kimberly Kinrade was born with ink in her veins and magic in her heart. As a child, where others saw shapes in clouds, she saw words. But she was also an entrepreneur at heart. So when her business arrangement with the Tooth Fairy ended, she went pro by writing her fantastical stories and selling them to all her neighbors.
Fast forward… um… many years and many college degrees later… and she is now a published author after a long career as a journalist and freelance writer.
Though she has written in many genres and fields, she's most passionate about the world of the paranormal and fantasy.
Check out her children's fantasy series at http://ThreeLostKids.com and enjoy The Three Lost Kids Trilogy: Lexie World, Bella World and Maddie World.
Also look for these books coming 2012 from Evolved Publishing:
Death by Destiny (Chronicles of Corinne, 1): She was born to power, power that could destroy worlds. He was born to stop her, whatever the cost. They didn’t plan to fall in love. Will it save them or lead to their foretold destruction?
And…
The Reluctant Familiar (a series): When fate takes hold of her life and thrusts her into a world of gods and goddesses, Agnes must decide: Is she a normal 13 year old girl, or the most powerful witch alive?
When Kimberly's not writing, editing and writing some more, she spends her time with her three little girls who think they are princess ninjas with hidden supernatural powers, her two dogs who think they are human, and the one man who is her soul mate and writing partner.
Find her at KimberlyKinrade.com
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If you enjoyed this book, consider supporting the author by leaving a review wherever you purchased this book. Thank you.
What's Next?
Look for Book 3 of the Forbidden Trilogy in Spring 2012 from Evolved Publishing.
The road to redemption starts in hell.
The older Rent-A-Kids are free, but a powerful force still pulses in the darkness, keeping them all prisoners to their power.
With Drake gone and her power spiraling out of control, Sam doesn't know how she'll make it through the birth of her child—or how she'll protect that child from the evil that stalks her.
Drake will do anything to get his powers back... but when his choices lead to drugs and secrets, he has to decide what he's willing to lose forever.
Lucy's shadow powers are growing stronger—too strong. As she and Luke work with the mysterious I.P.I. agents to free the babies and young children still held captive at Rent-A-Kid, Lucy must make some difficult decisions that could jeopardize her friendships, and their mission.
In this final installment of the award-winning Forbidden trilogy, each character must conquer their darkest demons, or lose everything in this final battle against the evil Rent-A-Kid organization.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Sam
Chapter 2 – Drake
Chapter 3 – Drake
Chapter 4 – Sam
Chapter 5 – Drake
Chapter 6 – Sam
Chapter 7 – Lucy
Chapter 8 – Sam
Chapter 9 – Lucy
Chapter 10 – Sam
Chapter 11 – Lucy
Chapter 12 – Sam
Chapter 13 – Lucy
Chapter 14 – Drake
Chapter 15 – Sam
Chapter 16 – Lucy
Chapter 17 – Sam
Chapter 18 – Sam
Chapter 19 – Lucy
Chapter 20 – Mr. Black
Chapter 21 – Lucy
Chapter 22 – Sam
Chapter 23 – Lucy
Chapter 24 – Drake
Chapter 25 – Lucy
Chapter 26 – Sam
Chapter 27 – Lucy
Chapter 28 – Sam
Chapter 29 – Lucy
Chapter 30 – Sam
Chapter 31 – Lucy
Chapter 32 – Sam
Chapter 33 – Lucy
Chapter 34 – Mr. Black
Chapter 35 – Sam
Chapter 36 – Sam
Chapter 37 – Drake
Acknowledgements
About the Author
What's Next?
Forbidden Fire (Forbidden #2) Page 19
