by R. D. Brady
Plus, Laney had asked him to make a place for Gerard, and he was so damn happy she was back that he’d do anything for her, even this. Henry stood, offering his hand. “Thank you for speaking with us. You are welcome to stay while we figure everything out.”
“Thank you. I’ll take you up on that.”
“Good. Let’s meet again tomorrow, and we can discuss—”
Gerard jolted, taking a step back, his eyes unfocused.
“Gerard?”
Gerard looked at Henry, and in a blur, he was gone.
Henry stared after him, the door swinging with the force of Gerard’s exit. What the . . .
He grabbed the phone and called security. “Mark, Gerard just—”
“Blew through the front gate and down the road,” Mark Fricano, the front gate guard, finished for him. “Dylan grabbed a Jeep and took off after him, but at the speed he was going, I doubt he’ll catch him.”
“Let me know when Dylan reports in.” Henry disconnected the call. What the hell just happened?
Chapter 5
Flames dancing in the distance along the tree line were the first thing Noriko noticed as she opened her eyes. She was in a clearing about thirty feet wide. She could feel the heat of the flames even from where she lay. A sweat broke out across her body.
This isn’t right. The visions aren’t supposed to be this real. She got to her feet and stumbled in the opposite direction.
The wind shifted. A wave of smoke blew over her, causing her to cough. She stumbled forward, pulling her shirt above her mouth while squinting her eyes. She stumbled into the trees, moving quickly forward. Eventually, the air cleared. She gulped in a mouthful of pure air, her hands on her knees.
She stood looking around with a frown. This is strange. Everything felt so real, not like a vision at all. Her visions usually had an almost dreamlike quality to them. Even though she experienced everything, a part of her brain always knew it wasn’t real. She reached out and touched a branch, feeling the smoothness of the leaves attached, the roughness of the branch. Nothing here felt like a dream.
Ahead, she could hear a low murmuring. Voices. She made her way toward them. Then the trees disappeared. The shift was disorientating. But now she knew where she was—in the mist again. She felt relief. At least this was familiar territory. The voices grew louder. She hurried toward them, wanting this vision to end.
I’ll just learn what I need to know and get out of here.
She came to an abrupt halt once again as the scenery changed. The mist disappeared. She was in a courtyard. She hurried behind a pillar, not wanting to be seen. Even as she shifted from view, she knew how idiotic her actions were. No one could see her here. A door banged loudly. A woman strode out, three large men following in her wake.
“Make sure everything is ready,” the woman said. “I won’t have anything ruin my plans.” She paused, tilting her head to the side. “What is—”
Noriko’s gaze snapped up as a cylindrical object screamed in from the sky, landing right where the woman stood. The blast wave spiraled out, slamming into Noriko and throwing her into the wall behind her.
She crumbled to the ground, her whole body radiating with pain. She reached for the back of her head. Her hand came away wet.
I’m bleeding? How is that possible? Fear charged through her. I need to get out of this. She stumbled to her feet, pushing away concrete that had been part of the ceiling above her.
And that’s when she heard the laugher. It sent shivers of fear racing through her. It was inhuman. Her whole body shaking, she stumbled forward over the debris and looked out into the destroyed courtyard. The woman she had seen stood there, her clothes seared, her arm hanging on by tendons.
Noriko’s jaw dropped. How was she still alive? Noriko scanned the ground. Parts of the men who had been with woman were strewn across the ground. Her stomach heaved.
The woman pushed her arm up toward her shoulder. Noriko’s eyes widened as the skin began to knit. She gasped, and the woman’s head turned toward her.
Noriko stumbled back, scrambling away from the woman’s gaze.
She can’t see me. She can’t see me, Noriko repeated over and over as her heart pounded. She turned, getting to her feet. A gust of wind blew, flinging Noriko’s hair into her face.
Then the woman was in front of her. She grabbed Noriko by the neck, pulling her up. “And who are you?”
Terror clawed at Noriko’s throat. This is not possible. Noriko’s hands tried to pry the woman’s hand from her throat, but she couldn’t even budge her. Blood was splattered across the woman’s face.
“Tell them they’ll have to do better than that.” She flung Noriko away.
Noriko soared through the air with such force that she knew that when she hit the ground, she would be dead. She pictured Aaliyah, her adoptive mother, who’d raised her since she was an infant and who’d warned her how dangerous her visions could be.
I’m sorry. I should have listened. Pain lanced through her as her back slammed into—
“Wake up!”
Noriko’s eyes flew open.
Gerard looked down at her, his blue eyes intense. His shirt was lined with sweat, his chest heaving. Her head was in his lap. The cats encircled them. She stared up at him in confusion. “What—”
Lou and Rolly sprinted up to them, stopping short at the sight of Noriko on the ground.
“Get away from her!” Lou yelled.
“Wait.” Noriko swallowed. “Wait.” She struggled to sit up. “He didn’t hurt me.”
Rolly strode over, his face mutinous. “Are you sure?”
Noriko nodded, still feeling dizzy. “It was a vision. He pulled me out.”
Lou’s anger immediately shifted to concern. “A vision? Are you all right?”
“What did you see?” Rolly asked.
“Let’s just give her a minute to collect her thoughts,” Gerard said, although it was more of an order.
Lou glared at him, but Rolly grabbed her arm, holding her back. “You okay, Noriko?”
“No. Just give me a minute.” A minute turned into five as Noriko tried to calm her breathing and sort through what she had seen. She reached up to the back of her head, surprised when her hand came back dry.
I was bleeding.
Rolly looked between Gerard and Noriko before tugging on Lou’s sleeve. “Come on. Let’s go get Henry and Jen.”
Noriko frowned, trying to figure out how he knew that and then realized he must have sensed them.
Lou crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you kidding? I’m not—”
“Lou, she’s fine. Let’s give her a minute.” He tugged her harder.
Lou slapped at his hand. “Quit pulling. We will be right back.” She gave Gerard a long glare before she followed Rolly.
Gerard rubbed Noriko’s arm. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. It was just strange. It was like I was really there, as if I was a participant.”
Gerard frowned. “What did you see?”
Noriko recounted the vision, her voice dwindling off after she described the missile attack.
“So she was killed,” Gerard said.
“No. She was hit. But she survived. She . . .” Noriko swallowed. She struggled to find some other interpretation for the next part of the vision. It can’t be. It can’t. But there was no other explanation. “She was immortal. Which I don’t understand because the kids—they were saved. She doesn’t have access to the blood.”
Gerard’s voice was without emotion, but Noriko felt him tense. “Then she found another way. Do you know when this is going to happen? Has it happened yet?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So there’s still time,” he said softly, and Noriko had the impression he was talking more to himself than her. She sat up, and he moved so he was now crouched in front of her, taking her hand. “Noriko, you can’t tell anyone what you saw. It needs to stay between us for now.”
“What? Why?”
Gerard glanced over her shoulder, then back at Noriko. She could just make out the sound of voices. “I can’t explain it right now. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
She looked at him, but it wasn’t Gerard in this moment she saw. It was Gerard the father, on his knees, grieving for his two young children. Noriko looked up as Henry and Jen Witt, her sister, blurred into view. The sisters had the same dark hair and dark eyes, a gift from their Polynesian mother, but their different fathers could be seen in the lighter brown of Noriko’s eyes and the sharper planes of Jen’s cheeks.
Henry frowned hard at Gerard. “What’s going on? I got a call that Gerard blew into the preserve, leaping over the gates.”
Noriko looked up at Gerard. He shrugged in response. “I knew I needed to get to you.”
Jen stepped forward, her gaze inspecting Noriko, looking for any injuries. “What happened?”
“She had a vision—a bad one,” Lou said. “Gerard apparently pulled her from it.”
Jen and Henry exchanged a look before Jen spoke. “What was the vision?”
Noriko didn’t look at Gerard. “I don’t remember.”
Chapter 6
Galeton, Pennsylvania
The cabin was quiet as Laney walked up the steps. She’d finished her run, Cleo distracting the guards so she could slip through their ranks and really stretch her legs. It had been intended to help her clear her mind. The dream had happened yesterday, and she hadn’t been able to shake it, even after a grueling run.
She wanted to do a little research, but stuck here in the woods of Pennsylvania with the governments of the world not exactly sure if she was a good guy or a bad one didn’t leave her a lot of options. She’d already used up the internet sources she could find. But hopefully her exile would be ending soon. The world seemed to finally be coming around to the idea that she wasn’t the devil Elisabeta had made her out to be. That instead, Elisabeta was the one law enforcement should be focused on.
Thank God I made that recording.
It had been a fluke that she’d even thought of it. But getting Elisabeta to tell the world in her own words what she’d planned to do with those children and the rest of the world, well, there was really no context where her words looked good. Laney had hoped that would spur the governments of the world into action.
The governments’ wheels, though, were working slowly. But it wasn’t just the vision that was spurring Laney on. She wanted to get back to her regular life. She needed to be back on the estate with everybody, and she wanted to see the cats. She knew Noriko was doing a good job with them, but it had been too long.
And now that the danger may be ratcheting up again . . .
Cleo stepped from the trees. Laney carefully pulled back her thoughts. Sometimes sharing a mental bond with Cleo was not the easiest thing.
Cleo paused, tilting her head to the side. What’s wrong?
Nothing.
Cleo walked slowly toward her, her nose twitching.
An image flashed across Laney’s mind—Gerard. Laney winced. Just leave it alone. Please.
Cleo watched her for a long moment before heading back into the trees. For now.
Her phone rang just as she was climbing the steps. She glanced at the screen. “Hey, Matt.” Matt was Matthew Clark, reinstated director of the Special Investigative Agency (SIA), underneath the Department of Defense. The agency had been shattered after the warrants for Laney’s arrest had been ordered, but the events of the last few weeks had convinced the powers that be that having a government agency specializing in tracking down the Fallen was probably in the U.S. government’s best interests. Of course, they now had a lot less autonomy than in the old days, but it was a step in the right direction.
“Delaney?”
Laney covered her other ear, trying to hear Matt better. “Matt? Where are you?”
“In a chopper on the way to the airfield. I’m heading to India.”
Laney frowned. “India? Why?”
“I just got a hit on some of Elisabeta’s known associates. They’re in India, on the western coast. Satellite imagery reveals they’ve been there for three days.” Matt paused. “They’re diving in the Bay of Cambay.”
Warning bells went off as a picture of Yamini flashed through her mind.
“I have a team assembled, and we should be on site in about seven hours. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I’ll let you know what I find.” Matt disconnected the call without waiting for a reply.
Laney put the phone down slowly, not bothered by Matt’s abrupt phone manners. But she was bothered by his words. Elisabeta’s people were in India, and they just so happened to be diving around the area where Dwarka was believed to have sunk.
She started to climb the steps, then stopped. No. Her head was too full right now. She couldn’t face her uncle, Drake, Victoria, Cain. She needed a little more time. She turned back toward the woods.
Maybe just another few more miles.
Chapter 7
Baltimore, Maryland
The morning light had broken the sky a little while ago. Luckily, no one was about. Ever since everything had happened with Laney, the school had lost a lot of students. Noriko hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder, her heart racing as she leaned against the wall in the foyer.
She peered around the corner, but there was still no one about. Only the nightlights were on, casting a dim glow through the hall. She glanced nervously at the window a few feet away, but she could see nothing through it. She took a shaky breath. She was not a fan of the dark.
She glanced at her watch. 7:17 a.m.
Did I miss him? She had been so sure he would come this way. Gerard had stayed at the school last night. He’d said he just wanted to see the school, but Noriko knew he was worried about her. But she’d known he’d be gone first thing in the morning.
What if I misunderstood? What if he’s already gone? What if—
“And what are you doing skulking about this early?”
Noriko jumped, her heart in danger of leaping out of her chest. Hand on her chest, she turned to face Gerard, who had somehow snuck up behind her.
He raised an eyebrow. She struggled to get a little moisture in her mouth so she could speak. “I, um, I was waiting for you.”
“And you thought I’d be wandering the halls before dawn?”
“I know you’re leaving.”
He paused for only a second. “And why would you think that?”
“I saw it.”
“Even so, I’m not sure how that involves you.”
She ignored the little stab of hurt at his words. “I’m going with you.”
He laughed. “No, you’re not.”
She straightened her shoulders. “Yes, I am.”
He looked over her head down the hall. “Noriko, you are a child. You will only be in the way.”
The little hurt in her chest grew larger. “I’m supposed to go with you.”
“Supposed to? According to whom?”
“I don’t know. Fate, destiny, take your pick. I had a vision.”
Alarm flashed across his face.
She spoke quickly. “It was just a small one, no harm done. But I’m supposed to go with you.”
“No.”
“I know you’re going after the Omni.”
He tensed, his eyes scanning the hall before they returned to Noriko. “Have you told anyone that?”
“No, no, of course not.”
“Then you need to keep it to yourself while you stay here.” He turned and began to stride down the hall.
“You won’t find it without me. I’ve seen it.”
He stopped, staring up at the ceiling before heading back to her. He kept walking, backing her up against the wall, towering over her. “Are you lying to me?”
“No, no. Why would I lie?”
He looked down at her, running a hand along her cheek. “Because everyone else does.”
She slid along the wall, out of his grasp. “Well,
I don’t.”
“If I go without you—”
“You won’t find it. We’re supposed to find it together.”
“And why might that be?”
“I guess whatever is responsible for my visions thinks we make a good team.”
He studied her face. “Is that why you think they are sending us together?”
Noriko wasn’t sure why his words made her breathless. “Yes. What other reason could there be?”
“You really are young, aren’t you?”
She knew she should be offended, but honestly, right then and there, she felt young. As if he was having a whole different conversation than she was. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“No, I suppose you don’t. Did you tell anyone where you were going?”
She shook her head. She’d wanted to say something, but she was worried Jen or Lou would try and stop her. “I left a note.”
She held her breath as Gerard went silent, his gaze roaming the hallway. Part of her was hoping he’d say she couldn’t go. The idea of this trip terrified her. But at the same time, everything inside her told her she needed to go. She needed to be there, or Gerard would not succeed. But Elisabeta would.
He sighed, then held out his hand. “I’ll take your pack.”
Relief and a tingle of fear rolled through her as she grasped the shoulder strap. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”
He leaned over and slipped it off her shoulder. “I know you’ve got it. But I would like to carry it for you.”
She let him take it. “Um, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go.” He hurried back down the hall.
Noriko had to practically run to keep up with his long-legged stride. He didn’t look back to make sure she was there. Of course, since she was already panting, she was pretty sure he knew exactly where she was.
