by Jena Leigh
And then he was pulling Alex even closer beneath the water, wrapping his arms tightly around her, as her legs circled his waist. She felt Declan’s lips curve into a smile beneath her own.
Violet tendrils of electricity began arcing through the waters close by, surrounding them in an underwater lightning storm that lit up the night.
Declan deepened the kiss and everything else fell away.
There was nothing else. There was only Declan. Only this moment. Only—
Ahem!
The mental throat-clearing caused Alex to hurriedly break off the embrace and swim a few feet backward.
Sorry to interrupt, Kenzie projected, but your Aunt is here, Alex. And she’s… uh… sort of wondering where you two are.
Alex looked back toward the dock—and then higher up the side of the mountain, to where an array of golden lights were now fighting back the gathering darkness.
The cabin’s outdoor lights.
The cabin, where the others were waiting, and which was still a ten minute walk from the lakeshore.
Good thing they could teleport.
“What is it?” asked Declan. “Should I not have—?”
“No!” said Alex, swimming close to him once more. Declan pulled her back into his arms. “No, it’s not that. It was just Kenzie.”
She could feel Declan’s groan rumbling through his chest. “My kid sister and her impeccable timing.”
Alex smiled up at him, shaking her head. “Aunt Cil’s here and she’s looking for me. We should go join them.”
“In a minute,” said Declan, grinning. “They can wait. I, on the other hand, have waited long enough.”
He leaned forward and claimed her lips once more, this kiss even more demanding than the last. If it hadn’t been for the water and Declan’s strong arms around her, Alex’s knees wouldn’t have stood a chance.
“Ahem.”
Breathlessly, they broke apart.
This time Declan had heard it, too. Probably, that was because the sound hadn’t come from Kenzie—it had come from a spot a mere twenty feet away, right beside the water’s edge.
Alex grimaced, slowly turning to face the newcomer.
Standing on the shore with her arms crossed and her mouth a thin, rather angry line, was Alex’s aunt.
Crap.
“Aunt Cil!” said Alex. When her aunt didn’t immediately reply, she added, “If you’re here, does that mean… Is it over?”
“It is.”
Alex and Declan exchanged a glance.
“What did the Director say?” asked Declan.
Cil seemed torn between answering their questions and commenting on the scene before her. Eventually, she settled on a sigh. “Grayson was able to convince her to wait. She’ll make her final decision after your test, Alex. Two weeks from Sunday.”
“Oh,” said Alex. Her Aunt sounded exhausted, but not necessarily relieved. “That is good, right?”
“It’s something,” she replied. “After this, Dana—the Director—will probably increase the Agency’s presence in Bay View. You’re going to have to be twice as careful, Alex, and twice as smart. You can’t afford another slip up.”
“What about Aaron?” asked Alex.
“He’ll be fine,” she said. “The Director wouldn’t admit to any intentions to take him, but she knows we’ll be keeping an eye on him. She won’t be able to touch him, so long as he keeps his abilities under wraps.”
Alex nodded.
“It’s time to head home, Lee-Lee,” said Cil, her icy glare fixed on Declan. “Come on. Out of the water, now, before you catch a cold.”
Before Alex could begin her short trek to shore, Declan’s hand found hers beneath the water. He squeezed it gently and sent her a smile in the fading light.
“Thanks, Decks,” she said, releasing his hand. “For everything.”
I might even be able to forgive you for dropping me in the lake, she projected, moving toward the shore. Again.
Her aunt, oblivious, waited patiently for Alex to climb from the water.
Behind her, Declan’s grin turned rakish. I knew if I dropped you into this icy water enough times, you’d eventually surrender to my charms. It was only a matter of time, Lex. Ladies just can’t resist a terrifying free-fall.
Really, she replied. It’s a wonder you’re still single.
Still?
From over her shoulder, Alex smiled at him.
“See you later, Ms. Cross,” Declan said aloud. “And goodnight, Lex. Be safe.”
Reaching the shore, she sent him a wave. “G’night, Decks.”
And then Alex’s aunt took hold of her elbow, and the lakeshore became a memory.
— 22 —
John Grayson glanced up from his computer screen, distracted by a knock at his office door.
“Enter,” he called.
The door swung open a short ways and Aaron poked his head through, his face pale and drawn.
“Come in, Aaron,” said Grayson. He gestured toward one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
Aaron closed the door carefully behind him. He stood awkwardly in place for a long moment before seeming to remember that he’d been invited to sit.
He carefully deposited himself in the leather chair, darting nervous glances at Grayson. His expression walked a fine line between awe and abject terror.
Grayson hid a smile.
His status and reputation had preceded him once again, it seemed.
The boy had no reason to be nervous, of course, but there was no need to tell him that right away.
Grayson planned to use the air of intimidation to his advantage. Fear and awe worked wonders in loosening the tongue—and there was still quite a lot to be learned from Aaron, just yet.
“How are you feeling?” Grayson asked.
“Better. Thank you.”
The room fell quiet. Grayson settled back further in his seat, while Aaron remained perched on the very edge of his.
“Do you think I… I mean, with the Agency… Could I…” Aaron stuttered. “Is it safe for me to go back now?”
“To your apartment?” asked Grayson. “It should be, yes. The Agency has no legal recourse for taking you into custody now that everything’s been settled. So long as you don’t give them a reason, you ought to be just fine.”
Aaron visibly relaxed.
“I’m puzzled, Aaron,” said Grayson.
At his tone, the boy stiffened. “About what, Mr. Grayson?”
“About the circumstances that brought you to Bay View,” he replied.
It might have been exhaustion that turned Aaron’s complexion a watery gray and put the beads of sweat on his brow, but Grayson doubted it.
Aaron was silent for a long while before he answered. “I was hired by a man who seemed interested in my abilities. He agreed to pay my way through college after graduation, so long as I… relocated.”
“To Bay View.”
“Yes.”
“Did he say why he wanted you here in Bay View?”
Aaron shrugged. “When I agreed to move, I just assumed it was because he wanted to keep me close at hand, but…”
“But your employer doesn’t reside here in Bay View, does he?”
He shook his head.
“Does this employer have a name?”
Aaron hesitated.
“Li,” he said finally. “Dr. Edward Li.”
Grayson narrowed his eyes. The name wasn’t familiar.
He pulled a photograph from his desk drawer and slid it across the top of the desk. “Is this him?”
Aaron’s brow furrowed. “Samuel Masterson?” he asked. “But… Isn’t he…? I thought Masterson was dead.”
The boy’s reaction answered Grayson’s remaining question. His suspicions were confirmed. He now knew exactly who Aaron Michael Gale really was.
“Michael Ian Gandry.”
The boy’s eyes widened.
“That’s your real name,” said Grayson. “Isn’t
it, Aaron?”
Silence.
“And your father,” Grayson continued. “His name is Robert Gandry.”
Unable to meet Grayson’s eye, Aaron swallowed and looked down at his feet.
“Was,” said Aaron.
“I’m sorry?”
“Was his name. My dad died six years ago from cancer.”
Robert was dead?
Suddenly the enigma that was Aaron Gale made a lot more sense.
“I’m sorry, Aaron. Your father was a good man.”
“My father was a coward,” said Aaron, still glaring at his feet. “He ran when he should have fought.”
“It’s not that simple, Aaron. He made that choice in an attempt to protect you. To protect your mother.”
“And to protect himself,” said Aaron bitterly. “He hid our family away in the woods while the rest of your team—his team—fought and died trying to stop Masterson.”
“When Samuel Masterson betrayed us, every member of our group was forced to make a very difficult decision. Stay and fight, or leave, and live to fight another day. Samuel posed a terrible threat to all of us, Aaron. The decision your father made was not an easy one.”
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window behind Grayson.
It was still early on Saturday morning. The rising sun shone brightly at Grayson’s back, casting a long shadow across his desk.
“Before you were born, Aaron, your father was thought to be the very last of his kind. You know better than most the weight that title carries with it. When we knew for certain that you’d inherited his ability, it became that much more important that you were kept safe.” Grayson rubbed his forehead. “And it was absolutely crucial that you both be kept away from Samuel Masterson.”
“Why? Because he’d kill us?”
Grayson stared at the boy for a long moment, puzzling over the question. “What did your father tell you about Masterson? About what he’d become?”
“Become?” Aaron repeated, confused. “He only said that he’d suffered some sort of psychotic break. That he’d become fixated upon a girl—Alex Parker—and that he was killing people in an attempt to get his hands on her.”
“And your father never told you why? Never told you how Samuel was killing people?”
Aaron shook his head.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Yes?” he called.
Nathaniel opened the door and stepped inside. “Cil’s here. She’s asking to see you.”
Grayson checked his watch. Cecilia was early.
Oh, well.
He’d learned enough from Aaron for one day, he supposed. If the conversation continued in the direction it was heading, Grayson would likely end up answering more questions than he asked, anyway.
And until he knew the true identity of Aaron’s employer, keeping secrets might be for the best.
“Right,” said Grayson. “Well, I’d say we’re just about finished here. Go ahead and show her in, Nathaniel.”
Aaron got to his feet.
“Take care, Aaron,” he said. “And know that you’re welcome here any time.”
“Uh, thanks,” said Aaron, stumbling slightly as he made for the door, his previous bluster over his father’s legacy gone. “Thank you, sir.”
With one final backward glance, Aaron slipped past Nathaniel and into the hall.
No sooner had the nervous boy exited than Cil strode coolly through the door. Even with her slight limp, it made for a marked contrast.
“Am I really so intimidating?” he asked as Cil carefully lowered herself into one of the leather-backed chairs. He stared at the door as Nathaniel closed it behind him. “That boy could have conjured a gust of wind and tossed me about the room like a rag doll, if he wanted to, but he sat and stared at me, like a cowed schoolboy in front of the headmaster.”
Cil snorted. “Honestly, Grayson? It took years for me to shake that feeling of intimidation. You don’t exactly radiate ‘cuddly and approachable.’”
“Hmm.”
“Anything else from the Director?”
“No. Just more of the same,” he said. “It’s a miracle we were able to talk her down this time. We have to keep Alex from losing control again in the next eight days. I’m not sure we’ll have any recourse left if this happens again before next Sunday’s test.”
Cil shoved a curly lock of hair behind her ear and changed the subject. “So what did you learn about Aaron?”
“Do your remember Robert Gandry?”
Cil arched an eyebrow. “Should I?”
“He was a member of my original team,” said Grayson. “Joined us about two years before the events with Samuel.”
“Was he the one who ran off after Sam killed Hanako?”
Grayson nodded.
Hanako Nakamura was a Japanese-born Variant who had possessed the ability to control fire—the same power as Carson Brandt.
Hanako and Cil’s sister Nora had been close prior to their deaths, and Hanako often looked after Alex when Nora and James were away on a job.
She’d been the one watching Alex the day everything changed.
The day Samuel changed.
Because of that, Hanako was the first in a long list of casualties.
It was only dumb luck that Nora returned to pick up Alex moments after Samuel’s arrival. If she hadn’t grabbed Alex and teleported her to safety, there was no telling what might have happened next—or how history might have changed.
“What does your former tech guy have to do with Aaron?” she asked.
Grayson frowned. “Gandry wasn’t just our tech guy, Cecilia.”
“Oh?”
“He was a weather manipulator.”
“Oh.” Understanding spread through her expression. “Oh! You’re saying Robert Gandry is Aaron’s father?”
Grayson nodded.
“So that’s why Gandry left,” she said. “It makes sense now. If Masterson knew what they were, then he’d be even more determined to take the Gandry’s ability. Weather manipulation would have been quite the coup, for him. But what on earth is Aaron doing in Bay View now?”
“That, my dear, is the real question,” said Grayson. “I think It’s time we did a little digging into the story surrounding one Dr. Edward Li.”
* * *
“Now this is the sort of training I can get behind,” said Kenzie, sliding her sunglasses further up the bridge of her nose.
“Easy for you to say,” mumbled Alex. “You’re over there working on your tan, while I’m getting my butt handed to me in this stupid—”
The minor slip in concentration proved costly.
A surge of cold water slipped around Alex’s ankles as she spoke and yanked her mercilessly beneath the surface as it hardened into an icy shackle.
Her startled cry emerged in a series of bubbles.
Cheap shot, Aiden.
It took Alex a long moment to remember how to melt the chain of ice fettering her to the pool drain. Unfortunately, remembering was only half the battle. Getting it to work correctly? Well, that was another story.
When the ice refused to melt, Alex blew out half of her remaining air in a furious grunt.
Stupid water. If she disliked it the week before, she straight up hated it right now. She’d more than had her fill of the obnoxious substance over the course of the last few days.
Alex closed her eyes. The chlorine was making them sting.
She ought to be reviewing her chemistry notes right now. Instead, she was spending her afternoon trying very, very hard not to drown.
This time tomorrow, Alex would be sitting through her final. Her performance on the exam would determine whether she’d be passing with the absolute lowest grade possible, or repeating the course in summer school.
She miraculously aced the final project, but after her cringe-worthy performance on the AP exam for college credit the day before, it was obvious she still needed all the extra study hours she could get.
Alex reached out a hand to grab the icy restraints.
What was it Aiden had said about changing the water’s temperature, again?
“It’s not just a matter of wanting it to change, Alex. You have to feel it, too.”
Feel it.
Right. Thanks, Aiden.
She’d received the exact same piece of advice a dozen times now, from nearly every other person who attempted to train her—but that didn’t mean it was an easy concept to get a handle on.
When it came to Variant abilities, intention and emotion were irrevocably intertwined. The intensity of your emotions often dictated the strength of your attack.
In other words, Alex could easily melt the ice, she just had to want it bad enough—and in the right way.
Alright, thought Alex. Warmth. I want warmth.
Nothing happened.
Frustrated, Alex beat angrily against the ice.
Each ability was different.
Telepathy, for instance, required a surprising amount of zen. The deeper your calm, the further your reach. Positive emotions were helpful when scanning, and if you were pissed off while projecting, you just might end up sending the thought in question to every mind in the room along with a killer headache.
Nathaniel’s telekinesis, meanwhile, was strengthened by pretty much any intense emotion. Desire. Determination. Surprise.
Rage, Alex had discovered, was particularly helpful, although it tended to screw with her accuracy.
But water wielding?
Made no freaking sense.
The anger that made objects achieve ridiculous speeds with telekinesis only slowed the water down. The zen that was so helpful with telepathic scans had absolutely no affect whatsoever.
And rage? The emotion that usually resulted in the most intense results with every other ability?
Yeah.
That turned the water to ice.
Which was something of a problem at the moment, since Alex’s current levels of frustration were now causing the icy chain around her legs to grow, thickening into impossibly dense bonds creeping toward her kneecaps.
If anger created ice, then she needed the exact opposite.
Alex might have sighed, if she’d had any air left in her lungs worth sparing.
Feeling things was proving to be a tricky proposition. Any time Alex’s emotions met full force with her intentions, bad things happened.
