The Forbidden Trilogy

by Kimberly Kinrade

  Ned had seemed off tonight, had been awfully polite, and hadn't even called the girl a bitch—which was his favorite word.

  Wonder what was up with him? Maybe he needed a raise too. Whatever.

  He'd followed his orders, and now his promotion was secure. Mr. Steele had told him that a brown-haired girl with blue eyes would come tonight, and he'd told Tyler to let her in. So he did.

  Chapter 112 – Sam

  The rough hand of the guard pushed me through the gate and past the guard in the tower. Once we'd cleared his line of site, the man before me shifted and morphed, his hair growing longer, body trimming down, and shape twisting... until he was a she. Robyn leaned over, short of breath, and fear for her unborn baby tweaked my conscious. Maybe she shouldn't have come; we had no idea what her particular para-power would do to her child, but she'd wanted to, and I didn't want to stop her.

  I needed her to find my own child. Selfish, but there it was.

  Darren had knocked out the real guard and hidden him outside the gates. I'd been ready to mind-control the guy at the gate, but he hadn't put up nearly the fight I'd feared. In fact, he seemed to know I'd be coming, or someone who looked like me, but then he was so lecherous I wanted to vomit. He was probably just glad to have fresh meat to chase.

  Didn't matter; we'd made it, and now it was time for the next phase. Since Lucy was the only one I could effectively connect with in a two-way conversation, I used my ear piece to contact Norm. "We're in. Start bringing everyone through."

  The two of us waited behind a secluded building, and within a few minutes Norm flew over the fence carrying Gary. One by one he went back and retrieved another team member, until we were all together again. Norm flew Toby in last, and Drake frowned and crossed his arms. What were we going to do with the boy, leave him alone at the hotel? Besides, we'd all been training to do missions by his age, and Toby had spent his life on the streets, so he knew how to watch out for himself. It was interesting, though, seeing Drake so protective.

  Robyn had shifted back into a guard to do a quick scan of the area, and came back to report. "There are a few guards patrolling the main facility."

  I nodded. "We'll use mind control to make them look the other way."

  Drake pulled out a purple vial and drank it. "I'm on it."

  I sighed. He shouldn't waste what little of that he had on something I could have done, but he seemed anxious to prove himself helpful. I couldn't blame him; I wanted to do everything I could to find Ana.

  I took the lead as we walked down a path to the main building. We passed a few guards on the way, but Drake took care of them. A quick scan of their minds proved they had been compelled to forget ever seeing us. I wondered vaguely if people ever dreamed of the memories they lost due to mind control.

  Once we reached the main building, I linked to Lucy. "We're in. Robyn will be leading the team to help you."

  Robyn tapped her ear, to make sure her comm piece worked. "Lucy?" Her voice quavered a bit. She was the most nervous of the group, but that could work in her favor, make her more careful. Hopefully, it wouldn't freeze her at a critical time.

  "Lucy will tell you where to go. She can see you."

  Robyn nodded. "What about you?"

  "I'm going after Ana and Steele."

  Drake stepped forward. "I'm going with you."

  Then Darren, naturally. "So am I."

  Toby turned himself visible and was already standing by Drake. "And me."

  I rolled my eyes. Boys.

  "Look, I appreciate the support, but Drake and I will handle this. The rest of you, get Luke, Lucy and the other IPI agent to safety. Save our friends."

  Robyn responded to something only she could hear—had to be Lucy giving directions—and she waved and turned left, with Norm by her side. The others followed her, though Darren kept looking back over his shoulder like a lost puppy waiting for me to call him back.

  I hated to admit it, but I was glad Drake was with me. If anyone could come close to caring about Ana as much as I did, it would be her father, and he was powerful, especially with access to his para-powers.

  As we walked, I reached out with the powers the Seeker had downloaded into me. Bright dots of light floated in my mind as I connected to the hundreds of paranormals in the buildings. Narrowing my focus, I sought the one signature I knew better than anyone's: that of my daughter.

  And where Ana was, so too would Steele be.

  Her energy pulled me forward with a string of light that had attached itself to me. The light led me up a flight of stairs and to a door.

  I stopped. "He's in there."

  I looked at Drake, his handsome face hardened, and finally understood the part of him that had always eluded me, the part that would do anything—anything—to protect someone he loved. In that moment, and to some degree in many moments leading up to that, we shared the same determination. Nothing would stand in our way as we rescued our daughter.

  "We attack him together. We don't let him hurt our baby."

  Drake nodded, but his brow wrinkled. "I've tried mind control on him before, and it didn't work. What if that happens again?"

  I held up my pistol. "Then I use this."

  I pushed the door open, and we walked through it and into a giant steel room full of containers. My mind was in shock, and it took a few seconds before I could comprehend the scene around me. It felt surreal, like waking up in a twisted Twilight Zone episode or a bad sci-fi movie. Viscous blue liquid filled each container. Inside them, men and women, even children, floated in the fluid, suspended in limbo. Some of them had mutated. Hundreds of these containers lined the room, spanning multiple levels.

  At the back, Steele stood in front of a giant computer, staring at a complex display of data on the screen.

  The light tethered to me reached into a tiny crib that looked more like a test tube. Is this where I was born? Or made? The thought made me shiver.

  Steele turned, unsurprised by our presence, and walked toward us. "Hello, Daughter."

  I lifted my hand, unlatched the safety, aimed straight for his chest, and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter 113 - Lucy

  Robyn and her team ran at full steam, no longer worried about discretion, their images casting a malicious glow against a black backdrop broken only by long shadows. Their heavy breathing filled Lucy's head and reminded her of a prank caller in a horror movie.

  She shoved that mental nightmare aside and directed them through the compound. "Go through the hangar. Hurry!"

  Flicking back and forth between cameras, Lucy monitored the team, and the duo of Hunter and Luke, who trembled with exhaustion from their ongoing battle with Beleth, even as bruises swelled on their body and blood trickled from wounds. Black blades extended from each of Beleth's hands, and the clank of metals, as Hunter fought him off with his own sword, reverberated through their comm units. Luke bobbed from one foot to the other, waiting for an opening to get to the vent and unleash the sleeping gas in his pack. The clash of steel and the shuffle of steps, the grunts of those fighting—these sounds sat suspended in their own world, seemingly disconnected from the scene in front of her, like a badly dubbed Japanese movie.

  A slash from Beleth's blade created a crimson line on Hunter's arm, and Lucy's heart dropped into her stomach. She squinted, imagining the cut, like fire, on her skin. She wanted to ask if he was okay, but knew she shouldn't distract him from the fight.

  Instead she switched to Luke's comm. "You have to help him!"

  Luke pointed to the crushed remains of his pistol, courtesy of Beleth. "I can't. No weapon."

  Lucy nearly clawed through the computer screen in frustration. "Use your powers."

  After a brief hesitation, he nodded and ran up behind Hunter, shadowing him as he raised a force field up to block Beleth's spider legs and sword attacks. Lucy could tell that they were not in synch. Luke's shield blocked Hunter's strikes as often as Beleth's, and they couldn't seem to find a rhythm that worked. Had the stakes not
been death, their clumsy dance might have been almost comical.

  Another click back to Robyn. They were almost at the door. Hurry. Hurry. Please hurry.

  Another click. Sam and Drake had gone to find Ana and Steele. Just as she zoomed in on the correct camera, she saw them slip into a room and disappear from her radar. She searched, but could not find a camera for that room. It either didn't have one, or it was totally blocked from her. She sent a silent plea that they would be careful and successful, then focused her attention back on Hunter, Luke, and their friends.

  Robyn stopped at a junction. "Left or right?"

  Lucy looped through camera feeds. "Left."

  They ran down empty hallways.

  Beleth continued his fight against Hunter and Luke, and the screech of metal filled the air.

  Sam and Drake were off her radar. Why was it so quiet? Why hadn't Beleth raised the alarm and alerted the whole compound of the breech?

  And why had he said he was sorry? That man wasn't what he appeared, but she didn't know what to make of him. The tracking device that she'd removed from her laptop sat on the table, and Lucy looked from it to the guard's soda can and back, then dropped the device in the soda, letting the acid eat it away.

  She watched the screen helplessly as one of Beleth's spider legs caught against Hunter and threw him against a wall, exposing weaponless Luke.

  Hunter tumbled to the ground and lay still, even as Lucy's heart sped up.

  Luke scrambled away, but Beleth stopped him. "Fight! Fight me."

  Huh? It wasn't as if they were filming for a pro wrestling show. Why didn't Beleth kill him then and there? Not that Lucy was complaining, but she didn't like having an enemy she didn't understand.

  Luke's breathing came through the comm harsh and jagged, full of fear. His face glistened with sweat.

  Lucy kept her voice low and calm. "Luke, you can do it. I know you can. Don't give up, Bro."

  She had to stop before her own panic filled her words, as she watched Hunter slumped into a heap in the corner, unmoving. He had to be just knocked out. No way he could be dead. Her mind refused to consider the possibility.

  Tension built as Beleth stalked the silent Luke, who acted as if he hadn't heard either of them. Beleth seemed almost hesitant, resigned in his task, as though he didn't really want to kill Luke.

  Lucy yelled at her brother. "Damn you, don't give up. There's something more going on here, and I need your help to figure it out. Get up!"

  Beleth towered over her brother. Oh, God, no. "Fight me. Or will you do nothing? Will you sit by and watch, like you sat by while they killed your mother?"

  Why was he taunting Luke? None of this made any sense. They hadn't even been there when their mother died; they'd still been at Rent-A-Kid, under lock and key.

  "No, I'm not just going to sit by and watch." He reached into his backpack and pulled out a smoke grenade, then launched it at Beleth.

  As fast as Luke had been, Beleth, as always, was faster. He dodged the grenade and it bounced off the back wall and clanged to the ground behind him. He lurched forward, to get out its way, but got caught in the green fumes as it exploded.

  Luke put his gas mask over his face and ran across the room, but Beleth grabbed at Luke's backpack and yanked it away as he choked on the gas.

  Lucy could see from the monitors that the gas was dissipating too quickly. In a room that size, it just wasn't enough, but if Luke used more he wouldn't have enough to complete the mission, if that was even a possibility anymore. "Luke, screw the mission. Just get yourself and Hunter out of there."

  Leaving his pack behind, Luke scurried across the room and grabbed Hunter's sword, steel ringing as he slid it off the floor. "I have to finish this. I will not let anyone down again."

  Like two bulls in a stadium, Luke and Beleth charged each other.

  Long spider legs reached for Luke's neck, even as sharp blades lashed at his torso, but Luke dodged and rolled into a somersault. He erected a force-field around himself.

  Beleth's blade hit it and ricocheted off, and the giant man fell hard to the ground. The combination of the fight and the gas seemed to finally be affecting him, at least marginally. He recovered a fraction slower, but still so much faster than a normal human. With a look of desperation in his eyes, he pleaded to Luke, "Use the sphere."

  Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Why would he bring that up now? What would using the sphere do?

  Luke shook his head. "Nice try, but Lucy got rid of that booby trap in the valley."

  Did Beleth want Luke to drain his own life energy? If that was the case, it was a convoluted way of accomplishing what he'd had many opportunities to do himself.

  This clearly enraged Beleth. He roared and looked more like an animal than ever before, the sound of his voice filling the large space. "Leave!"

  What? Yes, dummy, leave. She couldn't figure out why Beleth was giving her brother an out, but he'd better take it.

  Luke raised Hunter's sword and crept closer to his pack. "Never!"

  Damn fool, still trying to complete the mission.

  Beleth turned away from Luke and walked to Hunter, still slumped over, unconscious. "Then he will pay for your decision."

  What? Oh God! This just kept getting worse and worse. Lucy wanted to run and help, but she wouldn't make it in time. Why hadn't Robyn arrived yet? Lucy wanted to check on them, though she'd given instructions already, but she couldn't pull her eyes from the screen.

  Luke had to help Hunter. Why wasn't he moving? She looked to Hunter and to the vents. Shit! This was Luke's only chance to get the sleeping gas into the vents, but if he did that, Hunter would die. If he didn't, those kids would die.

  Luke stood, paralyzed.

  Panic gripped her voice. "Do something! Now!"

  Beleth moved closer to Hunter, each step a loud thud, his muscles straining as if fighting himself.

  If Luke didn't move soon, he'd lose his chance to do anything, and Lucy would lose Hunter and her brother.

  Luke whispered something. "Sometimes there are no right decisions."

  That sounded familiar. Beleth... he'd said that in the plane when they'd first met. Now it had come full circle.

  Luke sprang to action and ran toward Hunter.

  Lucy cried in relief.

  ***

  Luke darted through the room and struck at Beleth's neck with the sword, but Beleth turned and blocked with one blade while counter-attacking with the other. His blade stopped in mid-air, humming with tension.

  Beads of sweat formed on Luke's face as he focused on Beleth, holding him with power.

  A new look crossed Beleth's face. Pain twisted his usually calm features. The blade jutting from his hand started to crack. Beleth groaned, and the blade shattered, the pieces clattering like glass.

  Beleth roared in pain and pulled away, but Luke stayed focused and erected an entire barrier around the man, then shrank it until it became tighter and tighter. Lucy could see the iridescent reflection of the shifting matter even through the cameras.

  Beleth coiled into a ball, then his muscles bulged and he burst free of the force-field, tearing the air with a sound like thunder. His breathing came out harder than before. "Nice trick."

  Luke staggered back from the exhaustion of pushing his para-powers so hard, but didn't give up. "Here's another."

  One of Beleth's spider legs jerked forward with a crack, as if Luke had him on a string and had tugged. He must have been forcing a shift in the molecular structure. A brutal tug-of-war ensued, until the spider leg ripped off entirely. Beleth roared again, and for a moment Lucy believed her brother might actually win this battle.

  Then Beleth's last blade extended and he plunged it into the ground, snapping the concrete tile like a board of wood. That made no sense, and then—

  Lucy screamed, "Luke, move!"

  He hopped backward just in time to avoid the blade that came up from the ground to split him in two. It nicked his leg instead, and he fell to the ground, th
e air knocked out of him.

  Beleth crawled over to Luke using his spider legs, the strain of his recent battle showing in his tight, pain-filled eyes, but not in his speed.

  He got closer to Luke, who wheezed on the floor and clutched his leg, when the door burst open and Robyn and her team stormed in.

  Beleth's eyes widened in surprise. Darren flicked his hand and sent a table flying at Beleth, who tumbled back. Robyn, Norm, Mary, Greg and Gary held guns on him, but Beleth responded without hesitation, pushing his blade into the ground again.

  Luke waved his arms. "Everyone move!"

  The team moved back, but the blade didn't attack from below as expected. Instead, it came up under Luke's pack with all the sleep grenades, pierced it, then changed into a mallet shape and slammed back down, crushing all the contents. Green gas exploded out, enveloping them.

  Lucy screamed into the comm. "Get your masks on and get out of there."

  That was it. They'd failed. But what about Sam and Drake? And their baby?

  She radioed Simmons as the green vapor filled the room and blocked the camera. "We need to evacuate, now."

  "Is the mission complete?"

  "No. The grenades are destroyed."

  "Shit! We'll send in armored trucks. Get near the gate. But first, Lucy, did Agent Riley leave his pack with you?"

  "Yes." Lucy felt a panicky sickness in her gut as she lost all visual of her friends and Hunter—still stuck in the room with Beleth.

  "Good. Go to the pack and open it."

  Lucy didn't want to leave the computer, but she couldn't see anything now, so she dropped to the side of the bed and unzipped his bag. Wires connected to a device that looked like....

  She stepped back and gasped.

  "A bomb."

  Chapter 114 - Sam

  Drake pushed the gun in my hand and the bullet went wide, missing Steele and hitting a tank, creating a thin blue line of liquid down the side. I stared at my fingers and then glared at Drake. "What the hell?"

  "I... Sam, I'm sorry." He held up his hands, as if he'd never seen them before, as if they'd just done something horrible, which they had.