The MORE Trilogy

by T. M. Franklin

  Ava watched the flickering lights and wondered how anybody was able to keep up.

  Surrounding the screen, four rows of white tables—too sleek to be called desks, really, but they apparently functioned as such—radiated out like a bull’s-eye, the last row hugging the curved walls, with the chairs on the inside facing out at more projected images flittering along the painted surface. Protectors and surveillance agents sat at some of the desks, examining their own monitors or consulting quietly with one other. Other chairs were empty with papers and computer pads stacked neatly before them.

  It was obviously more technologically advanced than anything Ava had seen before—even at the Guardian compound—but at the same time, it seemed somehow normal. Maybe she was getting used to this strange new world after all.

  Maybe. Kinda. Sorta.

  Enough so she wasn’t shocked when someone did something amazing, something that should be impossible, or when a creature that looked more angel than human walked into the room.

  “This is Le Kwon, head of Bureau Surveillance,” Andreas said, holding out a hand as the woman approached.

  She was tall, probably six foot or better, Ava guessed, with glowing porcelain skin and long, glossy blue-black hair that hung—flowed, really—down her lower back. Like most Protectors, she was dressed in black from head to toe and her almond-shaped eyes, green and gold and topped by delicately arched brows, took in the scene with calm intent. Even without saying a word, she exuded authority and efficiency. She reminded Ava a bit of Katherine, but even more beautiful, like Talia—something she’d once doubted was even possible.

  Ava realized she was staring and blinked, her gaze dropping to the floor. She finally looked up when Andreas said her name, and she realized he was introducing them.

  “Nice to meet you,” Kwon said, her voice low and husky. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” She looked expectantly at Andreas.

  No nonsense. I like her.

  “New assignment. We’ll need Evan,” Andreas said briskly, scanning the room. “Where is he?”

  At the mention of the sensor’s name, Ava exchanged a significant look with Tiernan.

  So we were right. Evan is in New Elysia.

  “He took a break,” Kwon said. “He was here most of the night tracking a Half-Breed in California—”

  “California?” Andreas smiled, obviously pleased. “That’s the farthest yet, isn’t it?”

  Kwon tilted her elegant head in acknowledgement. “His gift is remarkable.”

  “How did he end up here?” Tiernan asked, beating Ava to it.

  “Stroke of luck, actually,” Andreas replied. “Protectors had been dispatched to apprehend him, but he was gone. They tracked him to Canada and found him wandering in the forest.”

  Ava glanced at Tiernan, but Andreas apparently caught the silent exchange.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  She cleared her throat and faced him head-on. “Caleb was bringing him to the Colony when he was intercepted by the Rogues.”

  Andreas’ eyes widened. “Well, then. It’s fortunate he was able to escape—both for him and for us, isn’t it?” He turned to Kwon. “We need to find two Race who’ve been abducted by Rogues. They’re both in the database already—Sophie Wright and Isaiah Bennett.”

  “The Half-Breeds?”

  “Apparently not,” Andreas said wryly.

  Kwon picked up a tablet, fingernails clicking as she tapped and swiped. “When were they taken?”

  Andreas relayed the information in clipped tones, turned to Gideon, and extended his hand. “The samples?”

  Gideon reached into his pocket, but when Ava stiffened beside him, he hesitated and looked at her.

  “Caleb’s coming, and he’s not alone,” she said quietly. “I hope everything’s all right.”

  Sure enough, a moment later, he and Madeleine walked in wearing identical expressions of grim determination.

  “Where’s Evan?” Madeleine asked.

  “The man of the hour,” Andreas murmured. “He should be here shortly. Is there a problem?”

  Madeleine’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not certain. Perhaps you’d care to explain to me how a suspected Half-Breed came to be working in Bureau headquarters.”

  “I don’t believe I like your tone.”

  “I don’t believe I give a damn!” Madeleine turned her withering glare on Kwon. “Did you know about this?”

  Kwon paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Clear the room!” Andreas shouted. “Madeleine, calm down,” he said, holding up his hands.

  Madeleine waited for the other agents to leave before she said through gritted teeth, “Don’t tell me to calm down. You violated protocol. This should have been brought before the Council, not to mention Kwon.”

  “There wasn’t time.”

  “There’s always time!”

  “We needed to find Caleb. The Council made it our top priority!”

  “That doesn’t mean we blithely throw away centuries of Law—”

  “For God’s sake, Madeleine, I didn’t throw away the Law. I did what I had to do to find. Your. Son.” He slapped the table to emphasize his words, ice blue eyes flashing in anger.

  Madeleine scowled at him for a long moment before she took a deep breath, her eyes fluttering closed briefly as she let it out. “Is he a Half-Breed?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Did you even have him tested?”

  “I made a judgment call. His gift—”

  “Judgment call?” Madeleine’s voice rose again. “After Ava? After everything we’ve learned, you found no need to test the boy?”

  Andreas slumped slightly. “What exactly are you saying? Do you think—” His gaze darted to Ava.

  “I don’t know what to think,” Madeleine snapped. “But you said yourself the boy has an extraordinary gift. It definitely begs the question.”

  “Excuse me,” Kwon interjected, raising a hand. “Begs what question? What is going on here?”

  Madeleine’s jaw tightened, and it was obvious she was debating how much to reveal.

  The room stilled and everyone seemed to hold their breath, waiting for Madeleine to decide.

  “If Race security is at risk, I need to know what’s happening,” Kwon said.

  With a curt nod, Madeleine filled her in.

  She’d just gotten to Sophie and Isaiah’s abduction when the door opened and a teenage boy walked in dressed in baggy jeans and a T-shirt, his blue eyes widening as he took in the scene, focusing quickly on Caleb.

  “Hello, Evan,” he said.

  “Caleb?” His step faltered then he approached them slowly, his eyes flitting around the group. “Are you . . . okay?”

  “Yes, thanks in part to you, if I’m not mistaken.”

  The boy’s cheeks flushed, and he shrugged, jamming his hands in his pockets. “It’s no big deal.”

  “It is a big deal,” Caleb said quietly, laying a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You probably saved my life.” He patted him once then stepped back. “I want you to meet some people.” He reached out and took Ava’s hand to pull her forward. “This is Ava.”

  His wide blue eyes grew even wider, if that were possible. “The Ava?”

  This time it was Caleb who reddened. “The one and only.”

  Ava smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Evan.”

  Caleb introduced Tiernan, Gideon, and finally, Madeleine.

  His mother seemed content to let her son take the lead, which was odd, but Ava wasn’t going to question it. Her intuition seemed to be feeding on the tension in the room, although she couldn’t tell if it was coming from Kwon’s irritation at being left in the dark, Andreas’ frustration at being questioned, or maybe even Evan’s uncertainty as he tried to figure out why he’d been summoned. She let her mind wander a bit and tried to relax, hoping her gift would do the same. Ava didn’t like feeling so on edge.

  “First things first,” Andreas said, acquie
scing enough to glance at Madeleine for approval before he turned to Gideon. “The samples?”

  The Guardian leader hesitated for a moment before he reached into his pocket to withdraw two vials of blood and handed them to Andreas.

  The Council member gave them to Kwon who tapped the table and a small panel retracted before her.

  She withdrew a long needle with a round handle on one end and pierced the cap on one of the vials to withdraw a drop of blood. Kwon held the needle out to Evan.

  To Ava’s surprise, the boy didn’t hesitate to take the needle between his thumb and forefinger, smearing the drop of blood between them. He stared blankly at the redness on his skin, and then shuddered as if he’d been startled. “Not far,” he said in a monotone voice, almost as if he was in a trance.

  Kwon handed him a computer pad, and he ran his fingers over it quickly.

  It took Ava a moment to realize that the others were looking at the central screen instead of at Evan, and she turned to find a series of maps flashing in the middle of the room.

  “North,” Evan said in that same almost dead voice. “No . . . west. Northwest. Not sure how far. I can’t get a clear read. But northwest. Definitely.” He shuddered again, and his blue eyes cleared and focused.

  Ava wondered which was real and which was a contact lens, because, yes, she knew. Like she’d known about Sophie, she knew.

  “Good,” Andreas said, taking the pad from him and setting it down. “Now, Evan, there’s a little test we’d like to administer.”

  They explained the process—just a drop of blood to examine his DNA—but Ava barely heard them, because she already knew Evan was Race. He was her brother. He was one of the Twelve.

  Five.

  This made five that she knew of. That left seven still to find. And with Evan on their side Ava was beginning to think they might actually have a chance.

  Chapter 10

  “I’m telling you, we need to go after them,” Caleb said, not for the first time.

  The Guardian delegation had withdrawn to his mother’s office after the DNA testing had proven what they’d all suspected. Evan was one of the Twelve. Kwon had quietly put a couple of Protectors on him, and Andreas was sticking close as he tried to narrow down Sophie’s location, but Caleb didn’t really believe the boy was a threat. No, Caleb was focused on getting to Sophie and Isaiah now that they had an idea where they were.

  “Gotta say I’m with Caleb on this one,” Tiernan said. “We can’t afford to leave those two in Rogue hands.”

  Ava sat up, shoulders stiff, and jutted her chin out. “Sophie won’t help them, not willingly, at least.”

  They all knew that didn’t really matter, though. Not with Emma on the side of the Rogues.

  “I understand the risks,” Madeleine said. “But we can’t simply send Protectors into a Rogue stronghold. Not until we have a better idea what they’d be walking into.”

  “So what? We sit on our hands?” Caleb jumped to his feet, his chair rolling back with the force.

  “Of course not!” His mother pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath to collect herself before meeting his gaze again, speaking calmly. “We follow protocol. We send an advance team and try to gather some intel.”

  “In the meantime, they could move Sophie and Isaiah, or Emma could manipulate them, lift their blocks, and—”

  “No.” Ava’s voice was quiet, but it still drew the attention of everyone in the room. “No, we can’t let that happen.”

  Caleb could almost feel her fear, her anger. “The Rogues won’t use them. We won’t let them.”

  “It’s not only that,” Ava said, eyeing him with—was it apprehension? “It’s not only Emma’s compulsion I’m worried about. It’s the block.”

  “What do you mean?” Madeleine asked.

  Ava flitted a glance at his mother but focused back on him when she said, “The problems I’ve been having. The nosebleeds and headaches? They’ve been getting worse.”

  A weight settled in Caleb’s stomach.

  He’d suspected, of course. He’d wanted to believe her when she said she was fine, but he’d known she really wasn’t.

  “How much worse?” he asked.

  Ava cleared her throat and looked away at the wall, the floor, anywhere but at Caleb. “A lot. It’s not only when I use my gifts now. And it’s not only headaches.”

  Concern turned to fear turned to outright fury as Ava told them about the nightmares, the increased physical symptoms, and how she’d been managing them with the help of the Guardian healer.

  “I can’t believe she kept this to herself,” Gideon all but snarled.

  “Doctor-patient confidentiality,” Ava said with a twisted smile. “It’s not exclusively for humans, you know?”

  “And this Talia,” Madeleine said, waiting for Ava’s nod, “she thinks these symptoms are a result of lifting the block?”

  Ava nodded. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what Emma said to me about the nosebleeds. She said our . . . father—” She grimaced as she said the word. “She said he would fix things. That when I got to him, it wouldn’t hurt anymore. She said he’d help me ‘like he helped the others.’ ”

  Tiernan pushed away from the wall to pace slowly across the room. “A booby trap?”

  Ava laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. I think so.”

  “I don’t think I’m following,” Madeleine said, leaning forward on her desk and rubbing a hand over her forehead.

  “Borré manipulated their DNA,” Caleb said. His voice shook with underlying fury. “Not only to create the perfect Race, but also to tie them to him. The symptoms, I’m guessing, will only get worse until they get the remedy from Borré himself.” He turned angry eyes on Ava. “That’s it, right?”

  “I think so.”

  “And you kept this from me.”

  “I didn’t want you to worry—”

  “You lied!” Caleb shouted, his damning words echoing off the walls. He clenched his shaking hands into fists and turned and stalked out of the office, ignoring Ava’s quiet plea for him to come back.

  He raced down the stairs and out the front door, not even realizing he was running until he found himself in the middle of the forest. He stopped, kicked at a stone, and grimaced in satisfaction when it knocked the bark off a tree. He paced around the small clearing, rage and indignation burning through him. He couldn’t believe Ava had lied to him. Had looked him right in the eye and lied to him, and then tried to defend herself by saying she didn’t want him to worry.

  As if he could do anything but worry when it came to Ava. As if he didn’t worry about her every minute of every day. He knew the real reason, of course. She didn’t want to be stopped. She was obsessed with bringing down her father, even if it killed—

  “Caleb?”

  He whirled around to find Ava standing near a tree at the edge of the clearing. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts he hadn’t even felt her approach.

  “I came out here because I want to be alone.” He crossed his arms over his chest, bracing himself against the urge to reach out to her.

  “Please, Caleb. I’m sorry.” Tears clogged her words and gleamed in her eyes, but he would not be moved.

  “For what? For lying to me? For putting yourself in danger every time—every single time— you used your gifts?”

  “Caleb—”

  “Or maybe for pretending that we had something more than just the bond? That this was some kind of partnership? That we could rely on each other—”

  “We can!” Ava took a step toward him, but he held out a hand to stop her.

  Pine needles and pebbles around his feet stirred with her emotion, hovering and bouncing on the ground. He felt a tug toward her. A physical tug.

  “Don’t even think about it,” he snarled.

  Ava’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t. Caleb, you know I wouldn’t.”

  “Do I? How exactly do I know that, Ava?”

  “Will you please just listen to me!” sh
e shouted, the dirt swirling higher around them.

  When he clenched his jaw against more angry words, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The debris settled, and he sensed the settling of her gift.

  She pulled a tissue from her pocket to wipe a small drop of blood from her nose.

  Caleb fought not to wince, but his stomach churned again. “Are you all right?” he asked after a long, silent moment.

  “Ha.” She swiped at the tears glistening on her cheeks. “Not really, no.”

  He wanted to go to her. Everything in him screamed for him to go to her, but he resisted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  She sighed and looked out through the trees. “You remember that day at the park, after the Rogue attack. After Emma . . .” Her voice was quiet, distant with memory. “I asked you to promise me that if I was needed, you’d let me fight.”

  “I said I’d try.”

  She turned the full force of her gaze on him, hot and earnest. “Try isn’t enough, Caleb. Not for this. Can’t you see? We’re not just talking about me here, or you, or the Race. It’s not only about Rogues and Guardians and the Council. This is about everyone. The whole world. If the Rogues succeed—”

  “They won’t succeed.”

  “They can’t succeed,” she said. “We can’t let them, Caleb. No matter the cost. There’s too much at risk.”

  Caleb knew she was right.

  Borré and the Rogues wanted power, and if they got it, anyone who stood against them would be destroyed. Humanity would become nothing more than slaves to their whims. There would be no one left to fight for them, to defend them.

  “I know that,” he said, finally taking a step toward her, then another, until they were close enough to touch, although he still didn’t reach out. “You think I don’t know what’s at stake? I know very well.”

  “Then you should understand—”

  “No,” he said firmly as he shook his head. “I mean, yes, I understand why you feel you have to do whatever it takes, including putting yourself at risk. God, Ava, don’t you think I feel that way, too? I was raised to help others—to Protect the Race, to aid humanity. It’s instilled in us from birth. I get that. How could you think I wouldn’t? What I don’t understand is why you thought you couldn’t trust me.”