by C. C. Lynch
The
Gifted
C.C. Lynch
Copyright © 2017 C.C. Lynch
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 1539937135
ISBN-13: 978-1539937135
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my daughter. You are truly exceptional.
Never be afraid to go after your dreams
(or write about them)
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
i
Chapter One
Pg 1
Chapter Two
Pg 9
Chapter Three
Pg 21
Chapter Four
Pg 35
Chapter Five
Pg 48
Chapter Six
Pg 63
Chapter Seven
Pg 74
Chapter Eight
Pg 89
Chapter Nine
Pg 92
Chapter Ten
Pg 97
Chapter Eleven
Pg 109
Chapter Twelve
Pg 114
Chapter Thirteen
Pg 117
Chapter Fourteen
Pg 126
Chapter Fifteen
Pg 133
Chapter Sixteen
Pg 136
Chapter Seventeen
Pg 138
Chapter Eighteen
Pg 141
Chapter Nineteen
Pg 147
Chapter Twenty
Pg 152
Chapter Twenty-One
Pg 154
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pg 159
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
About the Author
Pg 166
Pg 169
Pg 173
Pg 180
Pg 183
Pg 187
Pg 193
Pg 198
Pg 207
Pg 222
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are so many people who supported and helped me while I wrote this series. Thank you so much to my loving husband, who supported me and paid no mind when I wrote into the wee hours of the morning. My parents, who offered support and an ear that I could vent to any time I needed it. Thank you to all my friends that took the time to read my book, attend author events, and helped to get the word out about the series.
You all are amazing.
1
I watched, entranced as fire flickered and jumped from my fingertips. The flames danced around in the air before extinguishing quickly, only a small wisp of grey smoke as evidence that it had even existed at all.
“I get it,” I whispered, keeping my eyes on the ridges of my fingerprints from which the flames were emanating.
Silence answered my statement.
My eyes wandered briefly to Draxe, his focus was affixed to the spot on my fingers that had held my attention only seconds before. We were alone in the sitting room. It was dim and quiet, though the muffled voices of the others hiding in the sanctity of the revered level could be heard in the distance.
I watched Draxe’s shadow dance behind him as the crackles from the fireplace filled the silence between us.
“Why your father started working at Replyx,” I continued softly. “Having so much power and not being able to help someone you love,” my eyes sunk with empathic sorrow, “it must have been awful.”
Draxe’s mouth opened to answer, but he closed it softly and leaned closer, offering me his complete attention.
Delicately, I enlarged the flame into a rotating sphere. It was magnificent, swirling without a destination. Blowing on it lightly, I snuffed the flame and watched as the smoke spiraled in the air. “It seems like fate still plays a part in all this, somehow. It’s not fair, is it?” I shrugged, my eyes fixated on the smoke that danced in the air before disseminating into nothingness. “I can’t imagine how betrayed I would feel if I could heal all the animals in the world, but sat helplessly as the life of someone I loved slipped away.”
“Don’t start making excuses for people’s behavior.” Draxe’s voice was quiet and smooth, though his eyes remained stern and serious. “Trust me, they are perfectly capable of making their own.” He shook his head and his eyes seemed to grow darker, showing a deep similarity to his brother’s. “It’s a bad habit and if you start making excuses for people now, your sympathy is going to destroy reason.”
I nodded in agreement. I was going to have to keep my sympathy, empathy, and any other “athy” separate from logic.
As the comfortable silence found its way back to Draxe and me, my mind wandered to Vlaine, who still had not returned to the revered level of the school.
Draxe gave a partial smile as he caught onto my train of thought. “He wasn’t mad at you,” he put a comforting hand on my shoulder, “he was just mad that you were in trouble and he wasn’t there to help you.” His eyes drifted to the elevator then back to me. “Vlaine’s scoping out the school to check potential threats and he’ll be back once he scans the students and professors.”
I smiled, thankful that he was easing my worries about Vlaine. He had seemed so angry and I never thought I would be on the receiving end of Vlaine’s wrath. Not that he had been particularly wrathful, but I was overly sensitive when it came to anyone being upset with me.
Draxe adjusted his hat and slung his arm over the back of the couch. “Your friend seems to be adapting well to all of this.”
I grinned and looked over my shoulder towards the hallway of rooms where everyone was getting settled. “Steph is pretty amazing. I knew that she would be okay eventually, but she doesn’t seem fazed at all.”
His eyes were amused by some internal thought before he forced a serious expression. “Are you worried about Nicholas now?”
I shook my head. “I feel like they already played that card. Erik’s father was coming to influence me because I was not as compliant as they had hoped so his capture didn’t have the desired effect.” Exhaling slowly, I added, “I hate to think of it this way, but I would have felt so much more protective over Steph and she probably would have been a better choice. She’s so strong on her own, but that sisterly bond would have been a bit more influential.” Draxe gave me a strange look and it took a moment to contemplate my choice of words. “I know Steph and I aren’t actually sisters, but she’s my chosen family.”
He stood up from the couch and stretched back. “Well, you won’t have to worry about anyone for much longer. Everyone is here and safe.”
I nodded and leaned my back over the arm of the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Draxe walked away silently and Lacey came in to take his place. She grabbed the leather-bound book from the shelf that I had seen Vlaine and Aiden looking at, took a seat on the couch, and started flipping through the pages. I knew she could feel my eyes on her and the more I stared, the wider her smile spread.
“It’s the great book of gifts,” Lacey glanced up at me, “every gift anyone has ever had that attended Ernvlik Academy is in here with descriptions and possible uses.” She snapped her head up. “What a peculiar thing for the headmaster of a school to keep in the bowels of his academy,” she paused dramatically, “the possible uses of all these abilities.” A stifled snicker preceded her next statement. “It’s like a cheat sheet for a replicator.”
My body shivered. I tried to find something to say in return, but I was at a loss for words. Instead I stood up and went down the hall to where Steph was setting up a room with Miranda. They seemed to co
nnect instantly. I had offered for Steph to stay in the same room as Vlaine and me, but she decided that being a third wheel roommate would be far less fun than getting to know the girl with a personality as unique and fun as her hair.
Steph was putting sheets onto her bed and Miranda was doodling in a sketch pad. Emulating Ovolina’s gift, I finished making Steph’s bed using telekinesis.
“Show off,” she muttered, smiling playfully.
I shrugged and nodded with a large grin then slid onto her bed leaving enough room for her to lay by my side. Steph plopped her body next to mine and began primping her cuticles.
“So,” her voice dropped to an accusatory tone, “would you like to talk about what happened to Nicholas?”
I rubbed my palms over my eyes and shook my head. “Not really,” I groaned, “but I should.”
I felt guilty for not being able to control my gift enough at the time that Nicholas was taken, but Steph deserved to know the full story of why she was here and what had happened over the past few months. Sighing heavily, I prepared to tell her about Replyx and what had occurred. I began from the very beginning, from my original vision of Draxe to Professor Horicon and right up to the moment I realized I needed to get her and bring her to safety.
The story flowed so freely, as if the words were just waiting for the correct person to unlock them from a vault. When I finished, I allowed myself to open my eyes and found that Ovolina, Al, Connor, Claire, and Draxe joined the room at some point during my story; hearing it for the first time in detail. Draxe had never heard about my visions regarding him. Both embarrassment and relief fought for first place until I breathed out the embarrassment and chose relief.
I was glad to have finally spoken about what I endured at the tree house. Steph was the security blanket I needed to vocalize everything.
“How disgusting is it that I’m missing memories?” I sneered, “not knowing might be even worse because it just leaves my imagination to fill in the holes.”
“Well,” Steph slapped the mattress, “looks like we’re going to have to straighten out those hooligans and figure out how to get your memories back.” I nodded in agreement and accepted the unexpected hug she gave me. “It’s not your fault,” she whispered, clutching me tightly, “any of it. And we’re going to make sure that no one else’s Nicholas gets hurt by them again.”
For a moment, despite my friend’s words and everyone’s support, I was angry at them. They should not have let me off so easily. I was a replicator. I had the ability to mimic any gift I came in contact with. If I had worked harder or concentrated deeply enough there was no reason I should have been there. The demonstration room was the only thing that could excuse my failure.
“Abrielle,” Draxe scolded after listening to my thoughts.
I rolled my eyes in acknowledgment then shook my head of the despondent notions and balanced my elbows on my knees. “We should all show each other what we can do. Tomorrow we can practice our gifts and until then let’s use that board in the first room to write down ideas for how we can stop Jeremiah.”
“Good idea,” Ovolina nodded. Her arms were crossed tightly against her chest and her lips were distorted into a contemplative frown. Ovolina’s mouth opened as she was about to say something but then the whirring of the elevator cut her off. Her eyes darted to the source of the noise and then back to me. “Looks like your boyfriends back,” she smirked before pivoting out of the room.
I jogged into the hallway and stopped a few inches from Vlaine.
“Vlaine,” I exhaled in relief, “I’m sorry…” I began.
Vlaine’s lip pulled upwards in a crooked smile and he wrapped his arms around me, both hands firmly on my upper back. “You did nothing wrong,” his deep voice rippled with confidence, warmth from his breath tickled my ear. “If you got taken again,” he paused and shook his head, failing to complete his sentence. “I checked out the rest of the school.”
“Thank you,” I nodded and pulled away to gaze into his ocean blue eyes. “We have two additions. I brought Steph here and Lacey found us.”
“Yeah, I heard Steph and someone new down here.” Vlaine walked towards the hallway of rooms, confidence oozing with each stride. “That Lacey sounds like trouble,” he winked.
“Well she already managed to cause one of Frankie’s fits,” I chuckled, “so that’s the precedent we have thus far.”
Vlaine’s deep blue eyes squinted with aggravation. “I’m going to go back up there, something is off.”
Vlaine’s sudden switch from playful to intense caused my guard to go up. Memories of being stuck in Replyx swirled in my mind. If there was a threat at Ernvlik Academy, I did not want it anywhere near Vlaine. “Want me to go with you?” I knew he would reject my help, but I needed to hear myself ask, nonetheless.
“Nah,” he shook his head, “just make sure everyone gets situated. I’ll be back soon.” To thwart my objection, he put his hand lightly on my cheek and gave me a reassuring smile, saying he would return soon.
I dismissed the protective part of me that wanted to follow him despite his declination to my offer. My presence would have only been a hindrance, causing him to play sentinel to me while simultaneously searching for whatever had piqued his suspicions.
2
There was a nervous energy in the air; the type that can only be diminished by keeping busy. Putting our own personal touches and organizing the level helped, though only slightly. There were certain things that, even with the bulk of the school’s excess items stashed, were missing. Steph, Ovolina, and Aiden traveled to the top floors to search for supplies. I held myself back from joining them, knowing that I would be spending my energy searching for Vlaine, rather than gathering items we needed.
They returned with all the clothes in the lost and found, some food, and a few “old” laptops. Apparently, being older than a decade made them obsolete and they were lying around the school in junk drawers, waiting to either be recycled or used for parts.
Already, a fight over the laptops and the ability to communicate with the outside world became an issue and we soon had to implement sign-up sheets. Screen time was a drug, and everyone was itching for a fix.
Luka and Frankie had been keeping to themselves, huddled in the workshop. No one dared to disturb them; mainly to avoid any complications that could arise from upsetting Frankie. He was finally interacting with someone, and of all the things to come of the whole Replyx ordeal, that was the best by far.
Every so often I could see small changes, so slight I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. It took nearly half a dozen things being moved for me to realize that Aiden was actively using his gift. Books were moved ever so slightly, doors opened and closed, and other little changes. It made me curious if there was a reason for the changes, or if he was simply accustomed to altering time.
Three hours into our organizing and things began to go awry. Liz and Shane were suddenly nowhere to be found. Given the situation, two missing people was a reason for panic. Had it only been Liz, I would have assumed she was invisible and keeping to herself, but the Intervael student’s disappearance was raising suspicions. Ovolina’s use of the word “harlot” made it evident that she thought hormones were to blame rather than anything particularly nefarious.
Vlaine was still making his rounds about the school, so Draxe called out to him mentally and asked him to keep an eye out for the two. Though I assumed that Liz was hiding as she was wont to do and Shane just went off to explore the school, the more minutes that passed when Vlaine did not see them, the more I worried.
With the tension heightened and the threat of Frankie’s fits, no one had even checked the workshop until Miranda suggested it. Luka and Frankie had been keeping busy with the schematics that we had received indirectly from Luther. Ovolina poked her head in to see if Shane or Liz were in there. Her inquiry piqued Luka’s curiosity and he came out to see what the fuss was about.
“Are you going to look for them?” Luka’s question
was directed to me. I had been leaning against the wall, waiting to see if Ovolina found Shane in the room with Luka and Frankie.
“Yeah,” I nodded, “I can use invisibility so no one notices me.” A chill from the frigid wall caused me to shudder; the cold spot on my arm remained long after I moved away from it.
“What about two gifts at once?” Luka’s expression was taunting and intriguing in equal measure.
I crossed my arms, subconsciously suspicious. “What are you thinking?”
“Come here,” he tilted his head towards the wall. “If you can be both invisible and intangible, then you can look twice as quickly.”
Slowly, so I could observe, Luka put his hand to the wall. He pushed it forward and as he did his fingers and palm seemed to dissolve into it. “Go ahead to the other side,” he nodded.
I did just that.
“Here,” I called out when I was opposite to him.
Fingers slid through the wall, followed by an arm. Luka waved his fingers in a derisive gesture, then he jumped through quickly.
“Give it a shot,” he nodded.
The idea of emulating his gift was terrifying. There were so many things that could go wrong. What if I could not replicate the gift and got stuck in the wall? What if I happened to put my hand through wires and the electric charge inhibited my ability to phase through the material? On the other hand, if I could harness Luka’s ability, it would significantly decrease my time spent searching for anyone.
