by Sonya Weiss
My power surged and I breathed in deeply to soothe it, the way my parents had taught me from the time I was a little girl. I cupped my hand over the metal band, hoping the surge wouldn’t cause it to pop off. I sucked in a breath when my power continued to strengthen and the metal heated up enough to make it uncomfortable against my skin. I took a covert look around to see if anyone was watching me. When I turned my head slightly to the left, I saw the same Supernatural boy staring at me.
“Everyone stand,” Agent Davis said, and I looked away from the boy.
The agent glanced to the left of the room and nodded at three fierce looking humans in black uniforms with red stripes around the arms indicating they were Enforcers. They walked to stand in front of the podium, weapons ready.
“Front row, Juliet.” Agent Davis said.
Keeping my hand on my wrist, I ducked my head and stood, threading my way through the crowd to reach the first row of chairs. I felt hot all over. The last time I’d experienced a rise in body temperature, one of my fail-safes was giving way.
Agent Davis frowned at me, his eyes searching as if he thought something was up. I kept still, keeping my eyes downcast even though by now my power had heated the band to the point where it was burning me. When the agent finally stopped looking at me and started talking again, I drew in a shaky breath.
He called out Nixie’s name, and she slipped out of the row to join me. When the agent told Halo to come up front, she refused. A murmur rippled through the crowd, and the agent’s face mottled with anger. He motioned for the Enforcers. “Take her to Prison Sector 12.”
I expected Halo to fight the humans who grabbed her by the arms, but as she hung her head and let her hair swing forward; she smiled.
“Stupid of her to defy them, but her parents are locked in that sector,” Nixie whispered. “She wants to go see them.”
I nudged her. “Look,” I said when my skin beneath the band began to sizzle from the heat.
The blue-haired boy stared pointedly at my wrist, then doubled over, going into a prolonged coughing fit.
While the humans’ attention was diverted, I put the palm of my other hand against the band, trying to soothe it. Instead, my power gave one final surge and the band popped off in my hand. I quickly felt for the prongs, but there was nothing there.
Discreetly, I glanced at the floor. The two prongs were at my feet in plain view. I took a shuffling step forward, putting my shoes over them. Cuffing the band around my wrist, I bent the ends of it so it would stay on.
Agent Davis pointed at a human. “Give the boy some water.”
As blue-haired boy drank the water, his gaze found mine again. Had he known what was going on with my power and distracted the agent to protect me?
When he was satisfied the coughing was over, Agent Davis continued calling Supernaturals to the front until there were nine of us.
“The majority of you will fight outside the White House to keep the attacking Supernaturals at bay. The two of you”—he pointed to Nixie and me—”will be in the room with her.” He studied each of us for a second, then nodded toward Rick.
Rick moved to the podium and picked up a box from the floor beside it. He opened the lid and walked in front of us, tilting it so we could see inside. The bottom of the box was lined with small gray pellets, but they were unlike any I’d ever seen before. He snapped the box shut after he went down the row. “You’ll use these in the weapons we’ll give you. The pellets are sprayed with the oil found in rocks of the Void. Any Supernatural who is hit by one of these pellets will immediately become as powerless as a human, which will make them easier to kill.”
“If you have the pellets, why do you need us?” the blue-haired boy asked.
“Because we can’t tell the difference between your kind and the Ragespawn, and some of them could be in on the plan to grab the president. These pellets are ineffectual against those creatures.”
“So are we,” Nixie muttered.
Another Supernatural boy stood. “Supernaturals don’t always win in a fight against the Ragespawn.”
“Pity,” Agent Davis said with a sly smile. “Nonetheless, you can recognize them easier than we can, and you’re more expendable to us than a human life.”
A tide of anger rippled through the crowd. Rick’s lips tightened at his colleagues goading. He glanced at his watch, then motioned to the door. “We have to stay on schedule. There’s a bus parked outside that will take you to target practice. File out everyone.” He moved to block Nixie and me from being able to leave.
Agent Davis passed us and headed down the center aisle. I didn’t like his smirk, his swagger, or the way he looked at me as if he’d like nothing better than to slit my throat.
“Walk with me.” Rick joined us in the aisle once the other agent left. He held the door open for us. The smell of diesel from the bus hung on the brisk air. I hunched against the wind and Nixie did the same.
“You’re not the only one with someone to lose.” He walked off without saying more and climbed onto the bus.
“What did he mean by that?” Nixie asked.
“Maybe the humans are holding someone he cares about too.”
The blue-haired Supernatural had taken a seat in the front of the bus. I don’t know why the thought of walking by him made me feel edgy. His leg protruded slightly out in the aisle with his hand resting on his knee. I looked pointedly at him, waiting for him to let me pass. He slid his finger over a fraction of an inch, and I caught the edge of a piece of paper sticking out.
I put my hand over his and tucked the paper into my palm.
“Sit down!” one of the humans shouted.
Nixie and I scurried to the back of the bus. I unfolded the slip and glanced down. Midnight. Back of the barracks.
I tore the paper into tiny strips and scattered them under my shoes.
“I wonder how the humans found out what the Void does to us,” Nixie said.
I stared at Riley’s back two seats ahead, wishing I could sit with him.
She followed my gaze. “What’s it like? Being with the future king?”
“It’s like any relationship, only the responsibilities we have are heavier. He’s the one his people look to for salvation from the Great Extinction and I’m the one—”
“The humans look to.”
“Exactly,” I admitted, looking down at my lap and linking my fingers together. If I failed to kill Riley, then everyone and everything ceased to exist. The pressure of my looming destiny gave me a headache. Why couldn’t it be my life at stake? I would have gladly given it.
She raised her eyebrow at me, her eyes too knowing, too intuitive, too close to seeing the hurt and the burden I carried.
I motioned to the blue-haired boy, drawing her attention to him. “What’s his name?”
“Adler.”
“There’s something about him I can’t define.”
She hesitated, then said, “He procures things.”
As if he sensed me looking at him, he glanced over his shoulder and gave me a slight nod. “Why would he want to meet with me tonight?”
“He probably has something you need. Information or a tool, maybe. You can trust him. He’s a nice guy.” She sighed, then two spots of color rose on her cheeks. Ah. So that was the lay of the land.
I grinned at her and she grinned back, then shook her head and looked out the window. “Funny how when everything is so screwed up you notice things you never did before. Adler was in my English class, and I was too shy to talk to him.” She was silent for a second before she spoke again. “If we survive the war, I’m going to tell him I like him.”
“Why not tell him now?”
She rolled her eyes. “Right. Tell him now when I can’t escape? I’ll pass. I want to be able to take off if I get the wince face from him.”
I laughed at the mental image, and Riley turned in his seat at the sound of my laughter. His gaze slammed into mine. The force of it hit like a collision with a meteorite and bits
and pieces of me fell through space. I had to force myself to remain in the seat and not rush to him and tell him what I had to do. I wanted to beg him to kill me rather than me killing him. But the world hinged on my actions. Sounds noble to save a world full of millions of people. But when the saving part involves killing someone you love, it’s a battle to put one foot in front of the other, to even want to keep breathing when you know you’ll be the one to take his breath away. Every time Riley smiled at me, I felt even more like a monster.
I pulled my attention away from him and stared out the window, not wanting to deal with the hurt when I thought about Riley. The Untolds dictated Riley had to die, and Henry cheered that destiny from the sidelines. I hated the Untolds and a little part of me hated Henry. It’s easy to say pull the plug on someone when you aren’t the one who’s supposed to do the pulling.
Nixie poked me in the ribs with her elbow. “I’ve heard rumors the humans plan to kill us if they win the war. Have you heard anything?”
“I can’t say for sure, but I suspect it’s true.”
Nixie chewed on her nail. “Then we can’t wait around. The faster we act, the better. The Supernaturals won’t sit around long and do nothing. There’s bound to be a rebellion.”
“If you expect me to join any of the Supernaturals in an attack on the base that could get all of us killed, you’re mistaken. I won’t risk Maisy. Now they have Stone, which makes it even worse. I will find a way, but I need time.”
“That’s something you don’t have a lot of.”
No pressure there. I leaned my head against the back of the seat, hating the crushing heaviness of the responsibilities I carried. I had to keep my lips pressed together to keep from screaming out in frustration. I had no margin for error.
The weight of the world was on my shoulders, and one wrong move would send it tilting off its axis and crashing to the ground.
I squeezed my hands together, wishing I had someone to hold me long enough to have five minutes of not feeling alone. I pressed my fingers against the cool window, wishing everything could be different, wishing my ancestors had never come to Earth. Probably a stupid thought because if we hadn’t, I never would have been created.
The bus rumbled to a stop and the driver shut off the engine, then swung open the doors.
“On your feet,” Rick snapped at us as he bounded up. He was the first one off the bus. Riley stood and slipped out into the aisle. A Supernatural girl in one of the seats he passed smiled and cut her gaze at him flirtatiously. Riley ignored her as he exited the bus.
I was on the last step when I accidentally stepped on my untied shoestring. Pitching forward, I threw my arms out, hoping to break my fall with my hands rather than my face.
Strong hands closed around my upper arms, and I was jerked upright. My lips parted to thank the person who’d saved me, but when I saw it was Riley, I couldn’t speak. His touch made me feel like I’d grabbed a live wire. Surely no addiction in the world could make someone crave a substance as much as I craved him. For a few precious seconds, the base and everyone on it faded from my conscious and Riley filled every one of my senses.
Riley’s hands moved down to my forearms and his fingers flexed. “Tonight,” he whispered.
“I’m meeting Adler.”
“Meet me behind my barracks afterward. Be careful.”
“You’re attracting attention,” Nixie nagged.
I dropped my hands to my sides, not realizing I’d had a death grip on his forearms. “Thanks.”
Riley dipped his head in acknowledgement and jogged off to catch up with Adler.
We passed Rick as he paced with a cell phone. “I need more time,” he snapped. Then with a curse, he punched a finger against the screen and shoved the phone into his pocket. Raking his hand through his hair, he muttered a name I was familiar with.
“How is Stacy?” I asked. The pretty brunette had worked with Rick at FAD’s headquarters, and he’d been interested in her. I’d once encouraged him to ask her out. He whirled around, eyes wide, then narrowing. He grabbed me by the elbow in a hold hard enough to hurt. “What have they told you? Where is she?”
His reaction surprised me. He was fearful and for as long as I’d known Rick, I’d never seen him afraid. I pulled against his hold, trying to break free. “I don’t know. Is she missing?”
“Is there a problem, Rick?” Agent Davis asked.
“No.” Rick released his hold.
After the other agent walked away, I rubbed my elbow and said, “Do they have her? Is that why you’re working with someone like Agent Davis?”
A muscle worked in his jaw and he swiped at his mouth. “Catch up to the others.”
“I can free her if I know where she is.”
“Do as you’re told,” he said loudly enough for his words to carry. Then lower, “For both our sakes.”
RILEY
The humans thought they had the base protected. I scanned the area, quickly identifying several weak areas. I guessed the reason behind the weaknesses was due to the FBI’s FAD division running the show rather than letting the military handle it. The humans’ military specialized in defense, and they were good at it. I’d studied their maneuvers in past wars listed in the archives my father kept at the castle.
Our people had infiltrated their military ranks to study them. Every one of them reported back with words like honor and respect, defenders of right, making them sound like superheroes. The description enraged my father. He’d wanted to know only the evil about the humans.
I rubbed the back of my neck. My emotions were mixed about the species. They weren’t the ideal neighbors. They could be obnoxious. Each one bent on his opinion, his way, being the only right way.
Maybe they thought the same way about us. Our leaders had scoffed at their laws from the first day on the planet, claiming alien immunity when the humans tried to force us to adhere to their laws and their rules. The resentment simmered on both sides for almost twenty years. The war was that resentment boiling over.
I studied the agents, Simon and Davis. Between the two of them, Davis was the most vocal. He didn’t try to hide his disdain of Supernaturals. Rick Simon was a bit of a mystery. He seemed to care deeply for Juliet, but I’d seen his hands shake. Seen the desperation in his eyes. Something was at stake for him, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. Between the two agents, Simon was the kinder of the two. The other one would knife a Supernatural in the back given the chance. I didn’t trust either of them. They were human.
Chapter 14
JULIET
The Supernaturals and humans gathered at the edge of the field. Signs around the perimeter warned that it was a training area. Piles of rocks and junk cars were scattered about the place.
Agent Davis paced back and forth in front of us. “You’ll use your power to blow up the cars. Do this while crouching and running so we can gauge your speed and intensity. Each of you must hit a target at least once in those positions as well as an enemy. We’ll divide you into teams.”
He began calling out our names and arranging us on either side of him. “You’ll fire at your enemy team and hit the center of their chest where the X is marked. You’ll all be wearing chest armor to protect yourselves from the hit.”
“What if we accidentally hit someone where they’re not covered?” a Supernatural girl with a circular scar on her forehead asked.
“Then it’ll hurt like hell,” Agent Davis said. He lifted his chin at a couple of the humans who moved toward us. They handed out bulletproof vests.
The vest was heavy. I dropped mine over my head and adjusted the straps to make sure the fit was snug.
The humans walked in front of us, using canned spray paint to mark the front of the vests with orange and yellow Xs. I waved my hand to clear the pungent fumes away from my face and checked how the Supernaturals had been divided up.
Riley and I were on the same team. I wished I could know we’d be on the same team in the future. I was tired of drea
ding each day. I wished time would leap forward and all this could be behind me already, and I would know for sure everything was okay. Or not.
When the humans were through marking us, they stood behind Agent Davis.
Several trucks pulled up and parked nearby. Men dressed in black and wearing bulletproof vests spilled out of the backs. Across their chests were straps holding the pellets sprayed with oil from the Void. They carried long-range weapons and gathered as a group at the edge of the parking lot, standing stiff-jawed and silent.
A ripple ran through the Supernaturals. They pressed around me, clearly nervous. Nixie chewed on her lip. “I don’t like how this looks.” She shook visibly. Adler smiled and put his arm across her shoulders. She flushed. “What do we do?” she asked, looking at me for guidance.
“Don’t pause to hit the first cars. Put as much distance as you can between yourself and the men with the long-range weapons.”
She looked at my leg. “Can you run fast enough to get out of harm’s way?”
“Not really, but I can duck.”
Agent Davis walked between each of us and checked the vests to make sure they were on correctly. When he was through, he said, “The exercise is done to simulate how you’ll come under attack once you’re outside the base. Your prisoner bands will be removed for the duration of the exercise. If you attempt to use your power on a human, we will not hesitate to kill you.” He motioned a soldier forward. The way he acted made me think he was up to something.
“Arms out,” he bellowed. He went down the line systematically removing the bands.
He would know my prongs were gone when he reached me. I was sure his reaction wouldn’t be a kind one. Waving the sensor over my band to release it, he waited for the click signifying the band had opened. When it didn’t happen, he lifted my arm and inspected the band.
