The Forbidden Trilogy

by Kimberly Kinrade

  Mr. Black set the megaphone down and stood before the crowd with a whip in hand. An evil smile curled up his face.

  Silence descended on them as everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.

  He flicked the whip and a scream filled the air around them.

  Lucy imagined wild animals made a similar sound when caught in traps.

  The entire crowd of students shuddered with each lash. Guys who never showed emotion in public wiped tears from their eyes. Girls sobbed.

  Lucy got angry. Really angry. So angry she would have given anything in that moment to have a more proactive power, like fire or telekinesis. A human lie detector was only useful in certain circumstances. Right now, she wanted to hurt them in a more immediate way.

  Gary had been right. She might not want the death of students on her conscience, but she couldn't allow this to happen either. Many would fight whether she and Luke helped or not, but maybe with their knowledge and training, more would survive.

  It was time for another Freedom Fighters meeting.

  ***

  That night, Lucy stood in front of a different crowd. The brutal punishment, rather than force obedience, had inspired more rebellion. More students than ever had joined the Freedom Fighters. Lucy vetted each one with questions, designed to make sure there were no spies in the ranks, and that each person was prepared for what might come.

  Namely, death.

  "Has anyone heard how Mike is doing? I can't believe they beat him like that."

  A girl, Desirai, raised her hand. "I slipped into his dreams before I came here. He's in a lot of pain but he'll be okay."

  Ah yes, a dreamwalker. Lucy made a note to talk to her soon. They could use someone with her gifts to weaken the enemies for the main assault, and to coordinate plans with Sam and Drake.

  "Thank you, Desirai. Please, keep an eye on him. And see me later, if you're free. I have some ideas I'd like to talk to you about."

  The girl's large eyes glowed with pride. She'd probably never been on assignment. Most of their group had no field experience at all, but it didn't matter; they would have to learn now, or die.

  "Luke and I are being sent on assignment. I don't know why, but we shouldn't be long. In the meantime, catalogue every power we have access to. Recruit new members, but carefully! We don't want anyone getting caught at this stage. As soon as Luke and I are back, we'll attack."

  ***

  Three days and two parkas later, Lucy and Luke got the call.

  Next stop: Russia.

  Chapter 39 – Drake

  Sam's words floated in and out of Drake's head like feathers—important feathers, he knew—but still... the curve of her lips seduced him more powerfully than the sounds coming out of them.

  "Drake, you're not listening." Sam pulled away and adjusted her shirt to cover her belly.

  "I'm sorry. You're just too distracting." He pulled her close and kissed her again, hungry for her touch.

  She pushed him away and got out of bed.

  "Come back. I'll behave."

  "That doesn't appear to be possible for you right now. Besides, I promised Brad we'd do his video today. I have to get ready."

  Drake clamped down on the prick of jealousy that insinuated itself into his heart like a virus. First, Brad had slept with Kylie. Now, Brad spent more time with Drake's girlfriend than he did.

  His pregnant, virgin girlfriend.

  He loved her like no one else in the world could, and he trusted her—having access to her thoughts made that a no-brainer. Right now, they needed to focus on getting their story out to the world—an enraged group of citizens could effect a lot of change, and give them the edge they needed over Rent-A-Kid. This organization flourished in the shadows, but Drake bet they wouldn't be so cocky when the spotlight of the world shown on them.

  They also needed to find the Seeker and rescue Sam's friends.

  She'd never agree to stay at the cabin, in safety, while he tracked the Seeker. That didn't mean he wouldn't push for it, but he needed another plan in case she didn't let him go. He needed to keep her and his unborn child safe.

  He rose from bed and stretched his long form, then dropped to do some push-ups and sit-ups. His super strength didn't mean he had a get-out-of-working-out-free card. He still had to stay in shape and keep up his endurance. After all, Sam may have been eating for two, but Drake was fighting for three.

  After a quick shower, Drake joined Bernard, Brad and Sam in the living room.

  The professor had set up some impressive video equipment and a mock stage on which to film.

  "What's all this?" Drake asked.

  Brad checked the lighting and adjusted some settings on the camera. "We want it to look professional. Okay, here's the plan. It'll be hard to do a mind-reading test with Sam, because that's too easy to fake. Instead, you're going to do a strength demonstration, Drake."

  Sam's long hair flowed down her back in curly waves, and a red blouse brought out the color in her cheeks and lips. Her blue eyes popped with whatever makeup she used. Drake preferred her without all that face paint, but he had to admit she rocked the look.

  He kissed the top of her head. "You look great, Babe."

  Brad took his place on the other side of Drake, and left the professor behind the camera. "Drake, you need to lift us both, and make it look easy."

  "It is easy, Dude. Lifting you two isn't the problem. I just have to be careful not to hurt Sam."

  Brad scowled. "Or me, I hope."

  "Or you. But she's carrying my child, so if one of you has to get dropped on your ass, guess who it'll be?"

  "Yeah, I get it. I'd drop me too if I had to choose."

  He tinkered with a few more settings. "Good. Okay. Ready? Action."

  Brad posed in front of the camera and stared at the little green light blinking on and off. "Is it working?"

  The professor chuckled. "Yes, go ahead."

  Brad cleared his throat and fidgeted with his hands. "Right. Okay. Um. So, if you've been following my blog lately, you know I've made some pretty wild claims about some friends of mine who escaped a secret organization using paranormal powers. I have here Sam and Drake. Sam can read minds, but how do you prove that on air? But Drake here, he can not only control minds, but is ridiculously strong. That's much easier to demonstrate, so here we go."

  Drake looked to Brad for the go-ahead, then put his hands out for each of them to step onto. When they had their feet on his palms and their arms on his shoulders, he lifted them from the ground until they had to bend over to keep from hitting their heads on the ceiling.

  The professor sucked in his breath. "Astonishing."

  Drake didn't break a sweat. He lowered his arms slowly to keep them from toppling off, and reached for Sam to steady her once back on the ground.

  Brad stepped forward with wobbly legs. "There you have it, folks. What normal man could do that without so much as a blink? Want to see more? Follow us."

  Brad walked around and took the camera off the stand, and ushered Drake outside. Everyone else trailed after the camera.

  "Now Drake will do another demonstration of his inhuman strength. Drake, can you please go lift that car?"

  Drake's mouth curved into a half smile. Would Brad think of nothing to challenge him?

  He reached under the belly of the Ford Taurus and lifted it as anyone else might lift a skateboard. Even Sam stared wide-eyed, mouth agape, as he stood there holding the car over his head.

  After the strength demonstration, Brad interviewed Sam and focused on the pregnancy and her escape. Drake sat next to her and held her hand, but had little to contribute to the conversation until the end.

  "And Drake, when you and Sam were finally about to escape, what made you decide to use mind control on Sam?"

  Drake's blood pressure shot through the roof. Was Brad trying to start a fight?

  "I had to protect her and our baby. I had no other choice."

  The interview ended.
r />   Drake stood and clenched his fists. "Brad. Kitchen. Now."

  They faced each other over the center island where knives and a cutting board lay. Brad eyed them warily, but he must've known Drake didn't need weapons to eviscerate him.

  "What the hell, man? Are you trying to drive a wedge between Sam and me? Trying to get us to fight so you can swoop in on another one of my girlfriends?"

  Brad took a step back and raised his arms in retreat. "What are you talking about? Of course not. I love you and Sam. No way do I want to cause problems."

  Drake's blood surged in his veins. He slammed his fist down on the island, scattering the knives. "You slept with Kylie. She may not have been the love of my life, but what were you thinking?"

  Brad's mouth dropped. "How do you even know about that?"

  "So, you don't deny it? We ran into her on the beach. My girlfriend reads minds. You do the math."

  "Did Kylie happen to think up what happened before I slept with her? Or the circumstances?"

  "Does it matter?"

  "Yeah, I'd say it does. You had been gone for weeks, no word—I thought you were dead, man. I was out drinking, she bumped into me, and after too many shots, stuff happened that I barely remember. You'd already dumped her. You were gone, and I was miserable." Brad's shoulders slumped forward. "You really getting pissed at me for this?"

  Drake paused. Kylie meant nothing to him; she never had. She'd been a temporary escape from his insane life, and he was a status symbol for her. No surprise that she'd seduced Brad.

  "Whatever. She's nothing. But Sam means everything to me and it's already tense between us right now. Your questions aren't helping."

  Brad walked around the island to stand by Drake. "I'm sorry. It's just, I know what people like to read. This stuff sells, and right now we need major hits. I didn't mean to mess things up for you."

  Drake held Brad's stare. They'd been best friends for, well, forever. Brad had risked his life, his job, and walked away from his home to help them.

  "We're cool, man. You're right. It doesn't matter. Sorry I'm so messed up right now. I'm just... angry. I hate feeling this powerless. At least you are helping Sam in some way. What am I doing but sitting around making sure she eats? We need to go after the Seeker. I can't afford to wait for something bad to happen."

  "So what are you going to do?"

  "If Sam won't stay behind while I hunt, then I'll have to go without telling her."

  Chapter 40 – Sam

  When I woke up from my nap, the house felt almost empty—at least empty of the chatter and movement of four people—and a scent from the kitchen made my stomach rumble and mouth water.

  The talons of sleep clung to me as I used the restroom and changed out of my sweats. I'd been sleeping a lot lately, but it seemed to help with the drug withdrawals and pregnancy.

  Drake stood in the kitchen with a skillet in hand. He smiled when I entered the room. "I wanted to surprise you with a date night. Things have been... tense... between us. I thought we could use some time alone, so Brad and Bernard left us the house for a while."

  Candles and a vase of yellow lilies—my favorite—turned the ordinary kitchen table into a romantic getaway. Butterflies danced in my stomach, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I loved Drake so much, and I craved some time with him, but I hadn't known how to make it possible with life so crazy.

  "This is amazing, Drake. I love it. Thank you."

  He pulled out my chair and encouraged me to sit as he brought out our meal: a spinach salad with chopped pear, goat cheese, roasted pine nuts and raspberry vinaigrette, followed by baked swordfish, asparagus and fresh biscuits.

  He sat across from me. "I thought we could use some time together. Also, it's a celebration, of sorts."

  "Oh? What are we celebrating?"

  "While you were sleeping, Brad's video went viral. Like tens-of-thousands-of-hits-viral. It's amazing, really. I didn't think it could be done, but you two did it."

  He seemed sad despite the good news. I reached over to touch his hand. "We couldn't have done it without you. It was your sexy muscles that made it happen in the end."

  Drake flexed, and I fake-swooned and laughed. It felt good to laugh, to flirt, to be with him alone.

  I wished it could last.

  But each bite of our dinner took us further away from each other.

  Our conversation reminded me of how two strangers on a first date acted in movies. Why couldn't we talk like normal people?

  Drake cleared the table and brought out raspberry sorbet for dessert.

  I took a small bite, and the sweet tangy raspberry flavor aroused my taste buds. "Thank you, this is really delicious."

  "I'm glad you like it." He ate his in silence.

  "Drake, what's wrong with us? Why can't we find things to talk about anymore?"

  He put down his spoon. "I don't know. Maybe because our whole relationship has been focused on problems, we've never learned to just have fun together."

  What he said made sense. First we had come together to escape, and now we were on the run with a baby on the way. This was actually our first date.

  He stood and my heart fell. Was he giving up already?

  "Why don't we watch a movie together? We can relax, cuddle, and just enjoy each other for a few hours."

  My heart lifted once more. How could I think he'd give up on us? He'd never do that. "I like that idea. What do you want to watch?"

  His eyes twinkled mischievously. "I was thinking X-Men?"

  "I can't believe you remember that!" We had watched that movie once before, sort of. Luke and Lucy had come over to console me while I got over what I thought was the flu, and we watched it together. Drake had "watched" along with us in my mind. It was my favorite movie ever.

  He started the movie, then sat on the couch and held me.

  I snuggled into his chest and enjoyed his heady scent. "Wouldn't it have been awesome if Rent-A-Kid had been run by Professor Xavier? What a cool place to grow up."

  He kissed the top of my head. "Yeah, I wish you'd had that life. You've had to go through so much."

  "At least I have you, now. That makes it all worth it."

  When the movie ended, we headed back to our bedroom and resumed cuddling.

  Only cuddling led to kissing and kissing led to touching and....

  I pushed Drake away and fought against the warring feelings in my body. On the one hand, a heat stirred in me that only he could quench. On the other, fear and panic took over whenever we got too close to crossing that line.

  "I'm broken." Tears fell off my cheeks, and I didn't bother wiping them. "I'm sorry you got stuck with me. You should be with someone who can... who is more experienced and less traumatized by the thought of sex. I just—I can't get the thoughts of what they did to me out of my head. It's so hard, Drake. Whenever we go too far, something switches in my brain and my whole body reacts in panic."

  "Sweetheart, stop. I love you and only you. I wouldn't change anything about you—except if I could destroy Rent-A-Kid and your pain, I would. There's nothing wrong with you. What you're feeling is totally normal, considering what you've gone through."

  "You're not mad?"

  "No. Never." Drake sighed and moved his body away—just a fraction of an inch, but enough to relieve the sexual tension that had built between us.

  Relief and disappointment surged in me. This is what I wanted, right? No pressure until I'm ready. So why does it feel like I'm losing him?

  "Just know that whatever happens, I love you. Never forget that, Sam, okay? Whatever happens."

  Chapter 41 – Lucy

  Four hours in a helicopter with Mr. Black rated as one of the worst experiences ever for Lucy—and that was only the part she was conscious for. Nobody had told them they'd be lugging around the deadweight of Head Goon on this assignment. When the helicopter finally landed on the roof of a super-secret—and weren't they all super-secret—facility in Russia, Lucy and Luke scrambled out so fast
they nearly tripped over each other.

  Frigid air whooshed around Lucy, whipping her long, dark ponytail into her face. She tucked her hair into her jacket and nudged Luke in the ribs. "Ladies first, Bro. Or have you forgotten all your manners?"

  "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

  Mr. Black stepped out behind them and growled.

  Again.

  If they'd been playing a drinking game each time he growled, Luke and Lucy would have both been sloshed thirty minutes into the trip.

  A Russian scientist in a crisp white lab coat greeted them with a handshake. He raised his voice over the roar of the helicopter blades, his English stilted but clear. "I am Dr. Koslov, the head scientist here. Follow me, and I will show you to our lab."

  The helicopter rotors slowed to a stop as Dr. Koslov led them through a rooftop door and down a flight of stairs into the lab.

  Lucy and Luke kept pace with the group, acting as "bodyguards" for Mr. Black. He had legitimate business here, but their mission was to steal information without alerting anyone.

  The scientist pushed open another door at the bottom of the stairs. "I should warn you that there was a terrible accident some time ago, and many genetic anomalies have been discovered. We have both animals and humans who need cures or treatments. Please, do not be alarmed."

  A tiny creature that looked as though a tarantula had crawled into the skin of a dog gave a half-bark, half-screech as Lucy walked by.

  She jumped back and bumped into the scientist. Do not be alarmed? Right.

  Row after row of disfigured beasts straight out of a horror film stared at Lucy with horribly aware eyes: a cat with two heads, a bird with lizard skin. Lucy had never seen anything like this place, and hoped she never would again—though she wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in her nightmares.

  Down the next hall was a series of sterile rooms with glass walls. Her stomach heaved at the site before her. Humans with hideous growths and animal-like mutations filled rows of hospital beds.