Awaking (The Naturals, #1)

by Freeman, Madeline

  Kellen acknowledged Lucas with a nod before taking off down the street.

  Morgan turned in her seat so she could see Lucas. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself,” he returned. “I’m supposing it’d be silly for me to ask what’s going on?”

  “We’re on our way to pick up Corbin. I assume,” Morgan glanced at Kellen, “once we get him, Kellen will tell us what’s up.”

  Kellen didn’t respond.

  Lucas nodded a little. “That makes sense, picking up Corbin.” He glanced at Morgan and, seeing the question in her eyes, continued. “I’m guessing he’s invited along for the same reason as me, which makes the two of you hanging out at the coffee house the other day make a lot more sense.”

  Morgan nodded. “Told you we had something in common.”

  Lucas gave a soft chuckle. “Understatement.”

  Morgan turned forward again and looked out the window. No one spoke. A few minutes passed before Kellen pulled up in front of Corbin’s house. Morgan looked at the large house, the manicured lawn. She couldn’t believe how much had changed in the short time since she’d attended a party here.

  Corbin exited the house through a side door and casually made his way to Kellen’s car. When he slid into the back seat, however, the look in his eyes belied his casual demeanor. “So, what’s up?” he asked, just a thread of unease weaving through his words.

  Kellen didn’t glance back at him as he put the car into gear. “In light of everything that’s going on with you three, one of the higher-ups wants to have a talk.”

  Corbin and Lucas started talking at the same time, but Corbin’s question won out. “What do you mean? What’s going on with us?”

  Kellen sighed as he steered the car toward the freeway. “No one expected your abilities to mature this quickly. I mean, Morgan, we knew about. And we were pretty sure about you, Corbin.” He glanced in his rearview mirror. “You,” he said, looking at Lucas, “took us all by surprise.”

  “Who is this us? What do you mean, higher-ups?” Lucas demanded.

  Morgan turned to Lucas, slightly exasperated, before she remembered that Lucas didn’t know anything about the Veneret. She quickly filled Lucas in on all the information she had, glancing occasionally at Corbin and Kellen to be sure she was getting it right. Corbin nodded encouragingly, but Kellen just stared at the road. Lucas just listened, a dubious look on his face. After Morgan finished relaying everything that had happened to her since Kellen had come into her life, the four sat in the car in silence.

  Kellen took the freeway toward downtown. He exited and turned toward the Royal Grand Hotel. Morgan considered asking Kellen where exactly they were headed, but the anxious feeling he projected stilled her tongue. She figured she would find out soon enough.

  When the Royal Grand was visible just down the block, Kellen took a right and, a minute later, pulled up to the valet for Desideration Tower, a large skyscraper that also housed multiple events each year, as well as restaurants, businesses, and offices. Kellen handed over the keys and got out of the car. Morgan, Corbin, and Lucas took this as their cue to get out as well, and the three followed him into the building.

  “So…” Morgan said as she caught up to Kellen. “Who is it, exactly, that we’re headed to see?”

  “Orrick.”

  Morgan came to a dead stop. “Orrick? Orrick Williams?”

  Kellen stopped too and looked back at her, slightly annoyed. “Morgan. He’s not really a guy who likes to wait.”

  Morgan opened her mouth to respond, but she felt a gentle pressure on the small of her back. Turning, she saw Corbin at her side. “Let’s just head up,” he said softly. “I’m sure we’ll get some answers.”

  Reluctantly, Morgan continued walking. As they followed Kellen to the elevator, Corbin did not remove his hand from the small of her back.

  They boarded the elevator in a silence that persisted as the car made its steady climb upward. Morgan watched as the numbers indicating floors steadily increased. Lucas took a step closer to her.

  “You okay?” he said, his lips close to her ears.

  Morgan released a breath. “Fine.”

  Lucas let out a soft chuckle. “Liar. I can feel how anxious you are. You need to calm down—you’re completely freaking out.”

  Morgan closed her eyes and took in a breath. She was surprised Lucas could feel what she was feeling. Curious, she attempted to reach out with her own mind, the way she did during readings. She felt Corbin at her side, uneasy, excited, and curious. And there was something else, too, that she couldn’t quite get a fix on—something shadowy linked to his hand on her back. She felt Kellen, calm but tense, sure, ready. What she didn’t feel was Lucas. She could feel his energy, but it was masked, obscure. She had no idea what he was feeling.

  Before she could comment, however, she felt the elevator come to a stop. Morgan glanced at the floor indicator and saw they were on floor twenty. The doors opened in a fluid motion, and Kellen nodded as an indication that the three should exit.

  Morgan felt the pressure of Corbin’s hand on her back again and she took it as her cue to lead the way. She took a few steps out of the elevator, expecting to find herself in a hallway; instead, she saw a tastefully-decorated, modern-looking office. It was a corner office, and the two exterior walls were made of glass. Without thinking, Morgan took a few steps toward the windows, wanting to see the view, but Lucas’s voice stopped her.

  “Kellen, aren’t you coming?”

  Morgan turned around just in time to see Kellen shake his head. He opened his mouth as though about to say something but closed it quickly. With a curt nod, he hit a button inside the elevator and the doors closed.

  For a moment, Morgan, Corbin, and Lucas just looked at each other, each unsure what to say.

  Finally, Corbin cleared his throat. “So… d’you think this is his office?”

  “Whose?” Lucas asked. “Williams’?”

  “Kellen said he was the one who wanted to see us.”

  Lucas seemed to weigh this information. “He also said Williams isn’t the kind of guy who likes to wait. But, apparently, he’s not averse to making us wait…”

  Morgan sighed. Lucas had a point. However, instead of dwelling on it, Morgan decided to check out the view. She walked over to the nearest wall of windows and surveyed the metropolis below. They were very high up indeed, so high up, in fact, that the cars on the streets looked like mere toys and the people looked as if a moderate breeze could blow them away.

  “It’s quite breathtaking, isn’t it?”

  Morgan spun around toward the sound of the voice. A man stood by the wall adjacent to the elevator, looking as though he had been there for a while. He wore a navy blue pinstriped suit and his gray silk tie matched his silver hair. His face was handsome with an ageless quality to it. He could as easily be forty as sixty. When he approached them, his eyes studied each one of them carefully, his gaze lingering on Morgan longer than on either of the boys. Morgan concentrated on not shifting, not showing how uncomfortable she felt.

  “Mr. Williams?” Corbin ventured tentatively.

  The man peeled his dark blue eyes from Morgan and turned to Corbin, smiling. “Orrick, please.”

  Behind Orrick’s back, Morgan and Lucas exchanged glances.

  “Ah, but where are my manners?” Orrick asked suddenly. With a sweeping motion of his hand, he addressed them each in turn: “Morgan, Corbin, Lucas. Please, have a seat.”

  At the large mahogany desk in the windowed corner of the office there sat three chairs. Morgan sat down, Corbin and Lucas on either side of her, and Orrick walked to the black leather chair behind the desk and took his seat. Framed by sky and tops of buildings, he looked even more impressive.

  Morgan suddenly felt incredibly underdressed. She tugged at the hem of her tank top.

  If Orrick noticed her actions, he had the grace not to say anything. Instead, he offered them all a benign smile. “You have questions, I assume.”

  Morgan
glanced surreptitiously to either side of her, waiting for either Lucas or Corbin to say something. When neither spoke, Morgan realized the reason why: It was her place to speak now. After all, she was the original psychic.

  “We know a little bit—about the Veneret. And we know that we’re Naturals.” Morgan paused, indicating Lucas. “Well, I assume Lucas is—Kellen didn’t seem to be sure about it, but if he wasn’t, I doubt he’d be here now.”

  She turned her attention back to Orrick who inclined his head slightly. Morgan took this as a cue to continue.

  “What we don’t know is—why? Kellen keeps saying I’m special, but why? And why are these… abilities showing up now?”

  Orrick folded his hands on the desk before him. He seemed to be considering how to answer. After a minute, he spoke.

  “There was a time when the Veneret were powerful. Revered. Known. But then the common became jealous of us, our abilities. They knew that we were stronger, better than they were, and they began to hate us for it. They hunted us, killed us. And it was decided that, in order to protect ourselves from annihilation, we needed to go into hiding.” A sneer marred Orrick’s handsome features momentarily, then he continued. “We removed ourselves almost completely from the common for generations before assimilating into the mundane world again. But our exile was not bitter: there was an end foreseen.

  “One day, a Natural would be born. That Natural would restore the Veneret to its rightful position in the world. No longer would the Veneret have to live with their abilities hidden, as though they were something shameful, unworthy to see the light of day. One day, she would lead us back to the light.”

  “She,” Morgan asked, incredulous.

  Orrick inclined his head kindly. “You’re the One we’ve been waiting for.”

  Morgan stared blankly at him for a moment before turning to Lucas and Corbin in turn, hoping to exchange incredulous looks with them. However, both Lucas and Corbin wore identical looks of understanding, as if what Orrick said made sense to them.

  She turned her attention back to Orrick. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “On the contrary,” Orrick said, looking slightly bemused. “For centuries, it has been foretold that you would be born, and that you would lead the Veneret back to our rightful place in the world. Your strength—your power—has been what has kept our hope alive through the generations.”

  Morgan just stared at him, waiting for the punch line. When, after a few moments, it became clear that Orrick was being serious, Morgan suddenly felt as though the air had been sucked from the room. What was she supposed to do? What did he mean about her strength and her power? She had neither. How could a group of people she had never heard of be placing their hope in her? Her breathing became shallow; she felt her heart begin to pound. It had to be a joke, a misunderstanding—something. He had to be wrong. He couldn’t mean her. He couldn’t.

  Gradually, things began fading away. Morgan was no longer aware of the chair she sat in, of Lucas or Corbin beside her, of Orrick watching her. All she could feel was the pounding of her heart and all she could hear was a rushing sound in her ears. She felt a hot, bubbling sensation fill her from the center of her being outward.

  How much time passed, Morgan wasn’t sure, but slowly, by degrees, she came back to herself. The bubbling ceased, rushing in her ears subsided, her heartbeat slowed. She became aware of warm hands on her forearms. To her left, she felt Corbin’s panic, his fear. To her right was Lucas, and Morgan realized he was the one calming her down. She glanced at him.

  “There you are,” he said quietly.

  Morgan gave him a confused look, and Lucas glanced over his shoulder. Morgan followed his gaze. The artwork on the walls had been knocked off center, and the papers that had been neatly stacked in baskets on Orrick’s desk were scattered haphazardly around the room. It looked as if a strong wind had ripped through the office.

  Morgan turned back to Orrick, prepared to stammer out some sort of apology, but the look on Orrick’s face stilled her tongue. His gaze implied curiosity, fascination, and—Morgan could almost swear—something like pride.

  Corbin’s hand shifted on Morgan’s arm as he spoke. “So, Morgan’s some kind of long-awaited messiah for the Veneret, but—what about me and Lucas? Why is this happening to us?”

  “The prophecy speaks of other Naturals the One will depend on,” Orrick said.

  When Orrick didn’t elaborate, Morgan spoke. “So, that’s it?” she asked. “I’m the One and these two are supposed to help me make things right for the Veneret?”

  Orrick nodded. “Yes. And for now, that is really all you need to worry about.”

  Morgan opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she felt Lucas squeeze her forearm.

  When he saw no one was going to speak, Orrick continued. “Can you control it?” he asked, looking at Morgan. When Morgan just stared at him, he added, “The Moving?” He gestured around the room.

  Morgan looked down, shaking her head. “Last night was the only other time I’ve done it.”

  “With the chai,” said Lucas quietly. “The parking meter. And the fedora.”

  Orrick nodded. “Anything else?”

  Morgan shrugged, glancing up at him. “I never really thought so, but lately…”

  As Morgan recounted the events of the past few days and Corbin and Lucas added their experiences, Orrick listened, nodding occasionally. Nothing they said seemed to surprise him at all. When they finished recounting events, Orrick spoke.

  “We’ve been watching you for quite some time, Morgan. No one expected you to mature in your abilities so quickly; Naturals rarely do. And you two,” he looked at Corbin and Lucas. “Your development is quite surprising. Especially yours, Mr. Kenrick. You, Mr. Starling, were already known to us.”

  “Like that,” Corbin said. “What does that mean?”

  “As you have probably surmised from your own experiences, our abilities manifest themselves in a variety of ways. In the past, we had a great many abilities at our disposal, but today they are somewhat… diminished. It seems every few generations or so, another ability becomes all but extinct.

  “Five abilities remain predominant today. There are the Movers, Feelers, Seers, Pushers, and Knowers. Sadly, Knowers are declining in number at an alarming rate.” Orrick sighed, staring down at the desk before him. It was a moment before he looked up and spoke again. “Seers and Feelers have been following you, Morgan, for years. And you, Corbin, were Seen a few months ago.”

  “But how?” asked Corbin.

  “This is something you’ll learn more about as your abilities develop. Needless to say, I am looking forward to seeing what abilities manifest in the three of you.”

  “So…” Lucas said unsurely, “these abilities are gonna continue?”

  “Of course,” Orrick said. “I see no reason why they shouldn’t.”

  “But—” Lucas stopped. He glanced at Morgan before continuing. “But, you seem so surprised by me. No one Saw me. How can you be sure I’m a part of this and not just—I don’t know—under the influence of Morgan’s powers or something?”

  Orrick studied Lucas for a minute before responding. But when he spoke, he directed his comments to Morgan. “What can you Feel? Can you Feel Corbin?”

  For a moment, Morgan was confused. Corbin had removed his hand from her arm a while ago; the spot he had been touching was markedly cooler than the rest of her skin now that his warmth was gone. But then she realized what Orrick meant. Taking in a breath, Morgan allowed her mind to reach out. Immediately, she Felt Corbin beside her, feeling both excitement and apprehension. Concern. He was concerned about… something.

  Morgan looked at Orrick. “Yes.”

  He nodded. “And Lucas?”

  Again, Morgan reached out, but this time, she didn’t receive any impressions. She could tell that Lucas was there, but she couldn’t access his feelings at all.

  “It’s like… he’s behind a wall or something. A glass wall. I kn
ow he’s there, but I can’t… you know—touch him.”

  “That’s unfortunate,” Lucas said quietly. When Morgan glanced at him, he raised an eyebrow.

  “I don’t think you realize you’re doing it,” said Orrick, “but you’ve been shielding yourself. Unless someone very skilled were actually trying to penetrate your wall, so to speak, your thoughts and feelings would remain private.”

  Lucas’s eyebrows furrowed. “So… I am one then? A Natural?”

  Orrick nodded. “A Feeler, most definitely. And, as I understand from last night’s events, you may manifest secondary gifts as well.”

  “Is that… normal?” Lucas asked.

  “It used to be commonplace for us to not only inherently possess but to be proficient with a number of abilities.” Orrick smiled. “And if you three are any indication, those days may be upon us again.”

  Lucas gave a slight smile and glanced down. Morgan thought she saw a blush on his cheeks.

  Orrick clapped his hands together once, sharply, and Morgan, Corbin, and Lucas all jumped.

  “Enough history,” Orrick said, a smile touching his lips. “I think what would benefit you the most would be to spend time with others like yourselves.”

  “You’re going to arrange for us to hang out with a bunch of other Naturals?” asked Morgan.

  Orrick shook his head. “That would be rather difficult to arrange as there are so few of you. I mean Veneret—of your own age, of course.”

  Morgan sensed rather than saw Corbin shift uncomfortably. Orrick seemed to notice, too, and he turned his attention to Corbin. “Yes?”

  “I kinda… had plans tonight.”

  “With the charming Clarissa Perry, no doubt,” Orrick said. When three sets of surprised eyes turned in his direction, Orrick just chuckled. “I am not without the resources to be well-informed.” He smiled, turning his full attention to Corbin. “Miss Perry is, of course, welcome to accompany you, if you and she are able to accept that some areas of the party might be off-limits to her.”

  For a moment, Corbin seemed dumbstruck by the terms, but finally he managed to say, “Um, sure.”