The MORE Trilogy

by T. M. Franklin

  A sharp, stabbing pain sliced through her skull, and Ava fell to her knees, gripping her head as she screamed in agony. She curled in on herself, the pain echoing through her body in throbbing waves as her vision blurred. She didn’t know how long it was before the pain eased, and Borré’s booted feet appeared before her eyes.

  “I wouldn’t do that again,” he said. When she whimpered, he crouched down and tilted his head to look into her eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you, Ava. It hurts me, too, don’t you see? But discipline is important for a child. You know, spare the rod and all that—” He waved a hand. “Children need to learn, and how can they learn if they’ve never been taught?” He reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. “You have a little—” He motioned toward his own nose as he handed her the cloth.

  She wiped at her upper lip, red staining the white cotton.

  Borré stood, and she rolled onto her back to look up at him. “Now you’ve learned,” he said, straightening his jacket with a flick of the wrists. “I’m confident you won’t make the same mistake again.” He turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway, calling over his shoulder, “Twenty-four hours. Think about what I said,” without breaking stride.

  Ava heard the front door open and close before Emma fell to her knees beside her.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, hands fluttering around Ava’s face as though she was afraid to touch her.

  “He’s insane.”

  “He’s our father.”

  Ava rolled away from Emma and pulled her knees into her chest. “God help us,” she murmured.

  Chapter 12

  “We have to get out of here,” Sophie whispered, glancing out the crack in the door at the two huge men standing guard before closing it with a quiet click.

  “You should let me try—”

  “No!” Sophie belatedly realized she’d answered Isaiah’s thought rather than spoken words.

  He’d been practicing since they arrived at the mansion, and Sophie had to admit she was surprised by how quickly his gift had grown stronger and evolved beyond simply reading minds to projecting his own thoughts as well. She’d even caught herself getting him a bottle of water out of the refrigerator before she realized he’d planted the idea.

  “It’s because of him.”

  “I know.”

  They’d met the man Ava told them about—their father, Elias Borré—and although Sophie’s head had told her not to trust him, her body seemed to innately do just that. She’d relaxed, her gift growing stronger but more under her control somehow, and Isaiah had confirmed he felt the same.

  Borré had assured her it wouldn’t be long before their blocks were lifted. As soon as they’d proven their loyalty, they could take their places at his side. Sophie, however, didn’t plan to stick around for that. The guy was seriously creepy, and she knew Ava had to be out of her mind with worry.

  “I think—” Sophie raised her brows in question when Isaiah raised a hand and pointed toward the ceiling.

  “They’re listening.”

  “How do you know?”

  Isaiah rolled his eyes. “Duh. I’ve been eavesdropping on the guys outside.” He reached out to touch her hand. “Borré will be back soon with the girl—Emma. We need to be gone when they get back.”

  Sophie nodded. She knew he was right. Ava had told her a little bit about Emma and what she could do. It wasn’t something she wanted to risk. To be used against her will—

  “Hey.” Isaiah shook her arm gently. “You have to let me help.”

  “No, it’s too dangerous.”

  “All of this is dangerous!” He waved a hand to encapsulate the spacious apartment where they’d been held since their arrival. “Soph, I know you want to protect me, but this isn’t the time. We need to work together if we’re going to get out of here.”

  Sophie let out a heavy breath. “What do you know about our guards?”

  “Simple thugs. Strong and fast. One of them can fly a bit, but that’s all.”

  “Fly? Seriously?”

  Isaiah shrugged.

  “We’ll need a car. If we can even get out of the house.”

  Isaiah grinned. “Leave that to me.” He approached the door, laid a hand on it, and closed his eyes.

  “What are you—” she whispered, swallowing her words when he raised his other hand.

  She made out low voices on the other side of the door, the knob turned, and Isaiah backed away as one of the guards walked in—the taller one with blond hair. Sophie wondered if he was the one who could fly.

  Flying. My life is ridiculous.

  “We need to move you to a more secure location,” the guard said, stalking over to peer out the windows. “Gather your things.”

  Sophie cast a surprised look at Isaiah, who grinned.

  They snatched up their coats and bags and followed the man into the hallway.

  “What did you do to him?” Sophie whispered.

  “Paranoia. He’s not sure who to trust.”

  “But how?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” Isaiah replied. “I’m also not sure how long it’ll last, so we better move it.”

  They followed the man down the hallway, pressing against the wall as he drew his gun and peered around the corner down the stairs. He waved them forward, and they descended the winding staircase silently.

  Isaiah kept his breathing slow and steady and his eyes focused on the guard’s back.

  Sophie assumed he was dishing out more of whatever was making the guard help them.

  The tiled floor of the entryway shone in the light from the windows alongside the huge double doors. The guard reached for the knob.

  “What are you doing?”

  They whirled around to find the other guard—shorter and dark-haired—emerging from a hallway leading to the back of the mansion.

  “Where are you going?”

  The blond guard straightened. “We’ve got to get them to a more secure location.”

  “What are you talking about?” The man took a step forward, and Sophie reached out to grip Isaiah’s hand.

  He remained focused on the blond man, who stepped in front of them.

  “Who are you working with?” he asked the dark-haired man, slowly raising the gun to point it at him.

  “Hank? What the hell are you doing?” He raised his hands, eyes darting around the foyer.

  “You’re working with the Council, aren’t you?”

  “No! What’s wrong with you?” In a flash, he dropped to the floor and rolled away as Hank fired, the bullet shattering the tile floor.

  Shouts erupted from the back of the house.

  “Go!” Hank snarled, jerking his head toward the door.

  Sophie reached for the knob but froze in place, unable to move.

  “Soph?” Isaiah nudged her.

  “Something’s happening,” she mumbled through numb lips. “I can’t move.”

  Isaiah went to reach for the doorknob, but he, too, stopped with his arm extended. “Me either.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Sophie saw five more men pour out from the hallway, four with guns drawn, the other simply watching them intently.

  “It’s got to be him,” she thought, picturing the man in her mind.

  Isaiah managed a small nod. “He’s strong. He’s not responding to me.”

  Sophie took a deep breath and reached for her gift, like Ava had told her. Isaiah gripped her hand, and his power seemed to help hers along.

  The temperature dipped, and frost crawled along the edges of the windows, crackling quietly as icicles dripped from the doorways.

  The dark-haired guard was walking slowly toward Hank, hands held up. “Come on, buddy, you know me,” he said calmly. “You know us all. We’re all loyal to the cause, you know this.”

  Hank’s hand trembled, the gun barrel lowering slightly. “I don’t—I don’t understand.”

  “I’m losing him.” Isaiah winced and stared harder at the gua
rd. “I can’t hold him much longer.”

  With a burst of power, the ice from the windows, the ceiling, and the walls converged, compressing into a bowling-ball-sized sphere. It shot out from them and slammed into the man holding them captive.

  He flew down the hallway, and Sophie almost collapsed as his hold on her vanished.

  She wrenched the door open. “Let’s go!”

  Gunfire erupted, and Sophie threw up a wall of ice to protect them as they raced out the door and down the front steps. Three cars were parked in the circular drive, and she turned panicked eyes on Isaiah, who in turn looked back at the blond guard, Hank.

  “Keys!” he shouted, and the man didn’t hesitate to toss them to him.

  They ran to the car, pellets of ice shooting back at the house as the Rogues took cover.

  Sophie fumbled as she tried to get the key in the ignition, but finally, the SUV started with a low purr. She slammed it into gear and sped out of the circular drive, screeching to a stop as they neared the road.

  “What are you doing?” Isaiah shrieked, staring back at the men running out of the mansion.

  Sophie grabbed his hand and closed her eyes. She let her gift surge through her, boosted by Isaiah’s power, and visualized the water in the air—the air in the tires. After a moment, a series of loud bangs resounded behind them and Sophie smiled in satisfaction.

  “What did you do?” Isaiah asked as she pulled out onto the road and stomped on the gas.

  She winked at him. “I changed the air in the tires. To ice. Something I learned from our sister.”

  “Huh.” He sat back and let out a little laugh. “I can’t believe that worked.”

  “Yeah, well, we’re not out of the woods—”

  A loud thump sounded on the roof of the car as if emphasizing her unspoken words.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  A head appeared at the top of the windshield. The dark-haired guard glared down at them then drew back his gun and pounded at the glass with the handle, a crack splintering along the edge of the window.

  “That’s the one who can fly,” Isaiah said, buckling his seat belt.

  “So I noticed,” Sophie replied through gritted teeth, swerving in an attempt to dislodge him.

  The tires squealed on the wet pavement as the man rolled off the roof. He didn’t hit the ground, though.

  Sophie gasped as she spotted him in the rearview mirror, hovering a foot above the road and keeping pace with them as she drove.

  He reached for the car again, his fingers gripping the roof as she slowed to round a tight corner.

  “Crap,” she muttered. “Can you do something about him?”

  Isaiah closed his eyes for a minute. “It’s not working. I think I can only sneak in, you know? He must know what I’m trying to do.”

  Icy rain beat down on the car, and Sophie grinned when the man cursed and pounded on the side window. She swerved again, and he flipped back up onto the roof.

  “Uh-oh,” Isaiah said, looking out the rear window. “More on the way.”

  Sophie grimaced at the sight in the rearview mirror.

  The cars may have been disabled, but the Rogues could still run, and where she had to follow the road, she watched them leaping over logs and cutting through the woods in a straight line. They’d be on them in no time. Sophie’s mind raced for a solution, but she saw only one.

  She slammed on the brakes.

  The man on the roof flew forward, flipping through the air before hovering a foot above the ground, breathing heavily.

  “What are you doing?” Isaiah shouted.

  The guard got to his feet, and Sophie shot a shower of ice balls at him, knocking him to the side of the road. He collapsed and struggled to get up again, but she knew she’d only bought herself a few minutes.

  She turned to her brother, opening the driver’s side door and unbuckling his seat belt in one motion before dragging him across the seat. “Get to Ava—”

  “What? No!” He tried to pull her back into the car.

  “Isaiah, listen to me!” She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. “We can’t get away—not together. I can hold them off for a bit, long enough for you to get away.”

  “Sophie—”

  “Get to Ava. You remember where to go?”

  He hesitated then nodded. “New Elysia. In the mountains near . . .” His eyes drifted to the rearview mirror.

  She didn’t look. “Kalispell,” she said, shaking him slightly to draw his focus. “Keep going, and you’ll hit the city in about a half an hour. Head for the mountains. They’ll be looking for us. Tiernan will come after you. Then you’ll help them find me. Don’t forget.”

  “I won’t.” His eyes filled with tears. “Sophie—”

  “It’s the only way. Just go in that direction, and he’ll find you eventually. You have to keep moving. I won’t be able to hold them off for long.” She looked back at the guard, who was struggling to regain his feet. She shot another ice ball his way then glanced nervously down the road. “Go now!” she said, slamming the door.

  Her brother looked up at her with tears running down his cheeks.

  She fought her own emotion and pressed a hand against the glass. “Go,” she mouthed.

  He nodded and hit the gas, tires squealing as he sped down the road.

  Sophie turned to face their pursuers, gathering her power around her.

  Snow began to fall, wind whipping it into a near blizzard. It was about to get very, very cold.

  Sophie smiled.

  Caleb paced across the well-worn orange carpet in the cheap motel in Red Lake, his anxiety at an all-time high. It had been hours since Ava had left. The sun was low in the sky, and each minute seemed to tick by even slower than the last. She’d said she would call. She had promised she’d be careful.

  What was I thinking? How could I let her go alone?

  He peered out the window, scrolling distractedly through the contacts on his cell phone and willing her to call. Text. Send a smoke signal to say she was okay.

  C’mon, give me something. I’m not picky.

  The phone buzzed, and he jumped, frowning when he saw it wasn’t Ava calling, but his mother.

  “Hello? What’s happened?”

  He heard his mother sigh. “The Council has approved the alliance. The Guardians and their charges are welcome in New Elysia.”

  “That’s good.”

  “It’s a PR nightmare,” she said with a wry laugh. “But public opinion seems to be on our side, at least at this point.”

  “How’d you manage that?”

  “We told the truth,” she replied. “There are rumblings of discontent that we didn’t share the information sooner, but the polls show that most see the alliance as the best and only solution.”

  “And the Half-Breeds?”

  “Will be safe for the time being. I gave Gideon my word.” Her voice trembled a little and she cleared her throat. “It’s a temporary amnesty for those currently with the Guardians. Those we have in custody will remain there. Once the threat has passed, we will readdress the situation and the Half-Breed policies.”

  Caleb was grateful that was a discussion he would have no part in. If he had his way, once this was all over, he and Ava would be far away from New Elysia, and the Council, and politics in any and all forms.

  “Have you heard from Ava?” Madeleine asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “I’m sure she’s fine. The girl is quite resourceful.”

  Caleb snorted. “That she is. The problem is, so is Elias Borré.”

  “Do you need backup? I could send Katherine—”

  “Isn’t she taking Ava’s roommate home?”

  “I promised Ava I’d keep Lucy here. Keep her safe until this is all over.”

  “What about Tiernan?”

  “Evan got a lead on Isaiah,” she replied. “Tiernan’s following up on it.”

  “A lead? What kind o—” His call waiting beeped, a
nd Caleb’s pulse quickened when he saw Ava’s name. “I need to call you back. Ava’s on the other line.” He hung up without waiting for a response. “Ava? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. “I can’t talk long.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. Somewhere near North Dakota, I think.”

  “North Dakota? Ava—”

  “I’m fine. I have to meet with Borré tomorrow to find out about my parents.”

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Caleb, listen.” He heard her moving around, her voice slightly muffled. “I know you’re worried, but I’m all right. I promise you I am. I need to do this.”

  Caleb took a deep breath. “I don’t like it.”

  “I know you don’t,” she said quietly. “But I don’t have a choice. Not right now. You should go back to New Elysia, and I’ll meet you—”

  “Absolutely not!”

  “Borré doesn’t want to hurt me,” she said. “In his mind, he wants to help me. I really don’t think I’m in any danger.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, tightening his fingers on the phone until it creaked. “Have you forgotten what Emma did to you?”

  “Of course not,” she said, but it sounded tired, lacking any heat. “But I don’t have a choice, Caleb. I have to get my parents away from him and find out what’s happened to Sophie and Isaiah. This is the only way.”

  “It’s not,” he said. “I got word that they have a lead on Isaiah. Tiernan’s on the way to find him right now.”

  “Really? Is he okay? Where is he? What about Sophie?”

  “I don’t know. But—”

  “You should go with Tiernan. If they’ve gotten away, the Rogues will be after them. They might need you to shift them to safety.”

  Caleb went back to the window and looked out over the all but deserted parking lot. “But what if you need me?”

  “I always need you. You know that.” She sighed, and he pictured her rubbing her forehead. “But there’s nothing you can do for me right now. And if there’s a chance to get Sophie and Isaiah back to safety, we need to help them.”

  He tugged at his hair, torn by his desire to be there for her and his understanding that he might be of more use elsewhere. “Are you really all right? Please, tell me the truth.”