Interference: Book One

by A. F. Presson

  The combination of Nora’s screams and Dr. Lee’s laughter swirled inside my already overwhelmed mind. I wouldn’t let him do this to anyone else—one innocent life was bad enough. The gun shook in my hand as I stumbled to my feet. His laughter escalated as I pointed it in his direction.

  Another yell from Nora—that’s all it took. I pulled the trigger.

  Click.

  His laughter died as he stared at me, amazed I’d tried to fire at him. He didn’t think I’d do it. The gun didn’t fire and being inexperienced, I didn’t know why. His cackling continued, louder than before, mocking me.

  I felt the energy around me stir as my fear and anger collided. My chest heaved, struggling to take a breath as the air electrified. My kinetic power exploded into the gun, and pushed the bullet out with force. No one in the room realized what had happened until his shirt stained red, and he collapsed to his knees in shock. I stood over him with the gun, shaking and panting.

  I couldn’t hear anything around me, no voices, footsteps—nothing. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out the gasps from Dr. Lee. He reached out for me, then fell face down on the floor. I didn’t snap out of my daze until familiar hands pulled the gun from my grip. Drake checked the chamber to verify there were bullets and turned the safety off. He tucked it in the back of his pants and forced my eyes up to his.

  “Mercy, stay with me. We gotta get everyone out of here, and I need you to focus. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  “Get to the roof. A chopper is on the way.” Drake helped Nora to her feet, sparing a quick, sad glance toward Cassie. He looked over at me with sympathetic eyes. “This was all him. Not you, Mercy.” He pulled us toward the stairwell. “I have to search this floor, then I’ll meet you up there.”

  “Fitz! We need to check on him!” Nora panicked.

  “Ren’s got him, Nora. Don’t worry, he’s alive,” Drake answered, before turning back toward the hallway.

  I took the stairs, one shaky step at a time, with Nora gripping my hand. We pushed through the door at the top of the stairs, and froze. Stella, Cyrus, and Kellan all stood in the corner huddled together. Neela stood in the middle of the roof, rain pouring down her face. A Custos guard stood behind her with a knife at her throat. I scanned the length of the roof—at least fifty Custos were waiting, and Asher Moreno stood in the center with a cocky smile.

  Asher yelled over the pounding of rain on the roof. “If any of you try anything, we will kill her. You wanna take that chance?”

  The charge of magic dissipated as the fear of harming one of our own took root.

  Asher’s gaze swept the roof. “Now then. Where’s that brother of mine? Anybody?”

  Silence.

  “Nobody? Alright, then. Maybe a death or two will bring him forward.” Asher nodded toward the guard and Neela gasped as the blade pressed against her skin. She clenched her jaw, as if fighting the need to release her power.

  “Right here.” Drake pulled a gun free and aimed it toward his brother.

  Asher grinned. “Drop the gun, Drake. You know I’ll kill her and sleep well afterward.”

  Drake took a deep breath, then slowly dropped it on the ground. “That’s fine, Asher. I think we all know I don’t really need it,” he responded.

  Asher tilted his chin up defiantly, and the surrounding Custos shuffled nervously. “You’re on the wrong side, brother. There are things you don’t know.”

  Drake laughed. “Oh, really. You have all the answers, I presume?”

  “I know what happened to our parents,” Asher admitted.

  Sweat ran down the back of my neck, and my heart felt as though it would beat out of my chest. I wasn’t ready for Drake to know the truth, not from Asher. Drake stood silently, but continued watching him.

  “Why don’t you ask your girlfriend who she’s gotten killed? She has to have the record, right? Her Mom. Our parents. Who else?” Asher continued to speak, taunting him with a twisted variation of the truth.

  “That the side you wanna be on? The one that got mom and dad killed? It’s not too late, Drake. You can do what’s right.”

  Drake’s eyes met mine, and I knew his feelings for me were unyielding. No matter the circumstance.

  “It’s true. I’m so sorry,” I whispered as tears ran down my face.

  Drake’s focus turned full force on his brother, and I knew there was enough emotion in his power to kill them all. The moment Asher came to the same conclusion, he nodded toward the guard. Mine and Neelas’s power collided, halting the blade at her neck as Drake took the feeling from the guard’s limbs. The blade fell to the ground along with the Custos, and Neela bolted across the roof toward me.

  Completely focused on Neela, we never saw the gun until it was fired. When Asher’s bullet left the chamber, I knew with all of my heart I was too late to stop it. Drake collapsed to his knees, as blood soaked through his shirt. I knelt beside him, crying—holding pressure on his chest as his black shirt morphed into a white one, and the black of his hair transformed into the salt and pepper I’d grown to love. I shook my head in disbelief. My father had conjured the appearance of Drake.

  The intensity inside of me at that moment was triple what I’d felt on the subway. Love, heartache, and fear entwined for a vicious explosion of power. A massive bolt of lightning struck overhead as my back arched painfully, and my head shot up. I couldn’t hear anything around me. Neela’s mouth opened as if she yelled my name, but there was no sound.

  Drake and Ren burst through the door, right as Stella dove on top of the other students, protecting them. An eruption of energy rippled across the rooftop, knocking every Custos, including Asher, off the ninety-foot building and onto the street. The sickening sound of bodies hitting concrete echoed around the block.

  I fell to my knees, sobbing. My father focused on me, as if absorbing everything in the last few minutes of his life.

  “No. No, please!” I placed my hands on his chest, putting pressure on the wound. Drake knelt beside him and pushed my hands away, taking over. He, Ren and Neela pulled from their gifts, attempting to control the bleeding. It was no use. He had lost too much blood.

  “Elise! Where is she? She has to help him!” I cried out.

  “She stayed with Fitz.” Ren bolted toward the stairwell to find her.

  I brought my palm into the air, twisting my wrist like I’d seen Elise do. Nothing happened. The silence of my gift told me what I already knew—I wasn’t in touch with the interference of time. I screamed out in frustration and cursed my lack of control.

  “Mercy—“ Drake’s voice was barely a whisper as he continued holding pressure on his chest. “He doesn’t have long.”

  I glanced up and Drake nodded toward my father, silently telling me to take advantage of the time I had left.

  My father’s eyes were focused on my face. There was no fear—no panic. “I’m so proud of you,” he gasped.

  “I'm so sorry,” I cried. “I’m so—so sorry. I’m not strong enough.”

  “You are so much stronger than you know. I love you, Mercy. So much.” He lifted his hand, and I held it against the side of my face. He took several deep breaths. “Never give up—that’s what she wants.”

  “Don’t leave me, Dad. Please! You promised!” I screamed over the loud crack of thunder.

  He breathed in slow and deep, as if relishing the last few seconds we had together. “You know, strawberry cake was Annabel’s favorite too.” He closed his eyes as his palm fell from my face.

  All at once, a feeling of despair and loss traveled through my body, just as it did on my thirteenth birthday. As if a piece of me died along with him.

  I sat there for several minutes—uncertainty and confusion hovering in the air from my closest friends. No one knew what to do for me at that moment.

  “All this time? All this time your father was at Fremont?” Drake stared down at my father in shock. I wiped the tears rolling down my face. It was fu
tile—more followed. I climbed into his lap, not knowing what else to do.

  A gentle hand rested on my shoulder as Fitz stumbled to my side. Bruises shadowed his face and dried blood matted his hair. He looked as if he could pass out at any moment.

  Elise kneeled on his other side, tearful. “I’m so sorry, Mercy. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.”

  “You can try now, right? It might work, Elise. You have to try.” I begged.

  “Mercy, we can’t bring people back from the dead. He’s gone,” she whispered sadly. “Noah was a good man. I can’t imagine how hard this is for you, but you’ve got to leave, Sweetheart. I promise I’ll take care of his body, and I’ll do it respectfully, but I’ve got to get everyone out of here before more Custos show up.”

  “One more minute,” Fitz mumbled.

  Elise shook her head. “You look as though you might collapse, Fitz.”

  “He was my best friend, Elise. Mercy’s father. Give us a minute,” Fitz snapped. His face softened as he took in my father’s lifeless body before him. “Rest well, my friend.”

  I leaned forward, kissed my father’s brow, then whispered, “Thank you for loving me.”

  I looked up as the rain slowed, almost hovering in mid-air. Sirens wailed in the distance, no doubt on their way to the disruption at Fremont. A helicopter landed on the rooftop, and Stella gave the group their orders. Elise, Cyrus, Kellan and the others would go with her on the next chopper, and we would take the first. I gave Elise a small nod to let her know I trusted her with my dad. As the helicopter landed, Drake picked me up and carried me over to board.

  “Wait.”

  “Mercy, we need to leave now,” Drake insisted.

  “My dad’s picture and quilt. It’s all I have.”

  He knew by the look on my face there would be no compromise.

  “I’ll be back.” He took off running toward the entrance while the others jumped aboard, and Ren helped Fitz into the front. Drake returned at lightning speed with the items and promised that Elise would send the rest. The aircraft shook slightly as it hovered above Fremont, and I noticed Drake staring down at the dark pavement, no doubt mourning the loss of his brother. His brother I had killed.

  I squeezed his hand, not knowing how to comfort him. “I’m sorry about Asher.”

  “No way around it. He wasn’t the same person he once was, Mercy.”

  “He was still your brother.”

  “Yeah, he was.”

  We weren’t in the air long before I felt the helicopter descend. Surrounded by tall buildings and busy streets, it was apparent we were still in the city. We landed on the roof of an old brick apartment and soon learned it belonged to Fitz.

  “It’s a Brooklyn loft I keep for emergencies. I’ve only ever told a handful of people about it. Elise is taking the other group to an apartment in Jersey for protection. We will report it as gang violence so they don’t suspect anything,” he explained.

  After walking down two flights of stairs from the roof, Fitz unlocked a heavy metal door to a large open living area. Exposed air ducts, brick walls, and black iron fixtures reminded me of Fremont. You could tell it stayed empty the majority of the time, with only the bare essentials scattered throughout the room. Fitz looked worn and struggled to focus. Ren and Drake were on each side, balancing him as he stumbled into the room. Fitz directed them to his bedroom, and they assisted him in laying down to rest.

  I stood in the middle of the room, the night crashing down around me. I slowly turned, taking in the surrounding space, but my mind was back on the roof at Fremont. How many? How many people had to give their life for Aadya’s thirst for power? The room shook, paintings fell from the wall, and cabinet doors swung open. All I could hear was the inhale and exhale of my breath as destruction continued around me.

  A cold hand rested on my cheek, and the room settled. Nora’s blue eyes stared up at me sympathetically as she invoked calm into my madness. Tears filled my eyes.

  “I killed them, Nora. It’s my fault they're dead. Cassie, Dr. Lee, my father, Asher. All those Custos have families somewhere. I took their lives.”

  “No, Mercy. She took their lives,” Nora told me.

  Another set of arms came around and picked me up from behind. “Come on. Let’s get you in bed before we have another earthquake. Ren? Can you show the girls where to sleep? Mercy can stay with me.”

  Sadness filled Ren’s eyes. “Sure thing.”

  Drake pulled the blood stained shirt over my head and replaced it with one of Fitz’s he found in a drawer. I laid on the bed—unmoving—watching the fan above me as it blew a light breeze over my skin. Drake pulled my shoes from my feet, one at a time, and tucked the blankets around me.

  “I lost my father tonight.” I thought if I said it out loud, it might help me process what happened. It didn’t.

  Drake exhaled and kneeled down to kiss my forehead. “I don’t know how to help you.”

  I continued to stare at the ceiling fan, the way the blades angled to direct the air toward me. The perfect speed to cool the small room. It’s purpose fulfilled. Unlike myself. “Crazy, isn’t it? The amount of power our small group has, and we still can’t save someone’s life.”

  Drake climbed into bed, holding me against his chest, and sighed. “Get some rest, Mercy.”

  . . .

  I heard it again. Giggling woke me in the middle of the night, taunting me with the knowledge she’d somehow gotten into my head again. I was too exhausted to shield, and she had gotten through. I swung my tired and heavy legs off the side of the bed, and my feet hit the cold wooden floor. I knew it could’ve been a trap, but I had to know. I wanted to know everything I could about her.

  Light shone underneath the door, and the laughter of a child echoed from outside my room. I crept out of the bedroom, quietly. Drake needed his sleep as badly as the rest of us. The loft was silent—everyone sound asleep. The only thing separating the living area from the kitchen was a granite-topped bar. The giggling continued, and I turned to search out the little girls I knew would be there.

  This was different. The egotistical redheaded child from my previous nightmare sat cross-legged in the middle of the cold tiled floor. Her head tilted down, and her eyes focused up at my face, waiting for me. Kitchen knives were splayed along the floor like puzzle pieces, with the largest blade clenched inside her palm.

  Beside her sat a little girl with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Her mouth opened as if screaming, but without sound. Blood ran down from a gash in her neck, and cuts crisscrossed her hands as if she’d fought the knife. I looked back at the little red-haired demon, grinning.

  “Aren’t you going to come for Marley? Don’t you care about anyone else?” She whispered in a sickeningly sweet voice. Her eyes traveled down to my hand, the one that wore my mother’s ring. The grin vanished, and she screamed, “That belongs to me!”

  I stumbled backward and ran into Fitz, almost knocking him to the floor.

  Bruises shadowed the left side of his temple and he squinted as if in pain. “Mercy, what’s going on?”

  I looked down at the blood covering my palms.

  “What happened?” He asked.

  I held my shaking hands in front of me, then glanced down at the kitchen floor smeared with blood. Fitz pulled me toward the sink and turned on the faucet to look for wounds.

  “Fitz, I’m fine.”

  He scrubbed the blood away and continued to search frantically.

  “Fitz, look at me.”

  He paused and raised his eyes to mine.

  “I’m okay.”

  His relief was audible throughout the kitchen. “Then whose blood is this?”

  I stared down at my hands, then back at him. “I don’t know.”

  15

  ⥈

  “I have to go,” I told them.

  The distress was so thick in the room, I thought I might choke. Everyone sat throughout the living room, listening to the latest vision I’d had. Everyone, except Drake, w
ho stood staring out the window with his hands behind his head. Disapproval clear in his rigid posture and refusal to acknowledge the conversation.

  Aadya wanted something from me, and she wouldn’t stop until she got it. I didn’t tell them I’d heard the name Marley twice in the past two days—once from Dr. Lee and now from the vision. I knew what they would say—it was a trick, not to fall into her trap. Also, something about the name felt personal and I wasn’t ready to share the information until I knew more.

  “She’s going to kill you.” Ren said from across the room. “This is what she wants.”

  “Aadya will try to kill me no matter where I am. This is about cutting the casualties, Ren. Plus, I can’t keep running.”

  “You know none of us will let you go alone, Mercy,” Nora said.

  “I’m sorry,” Fitz said. “I’ll never make it through Stonedell until I heal from the concussion. Only a mentally and physically strong individual can pass those trials. Aadya doesn’t make it easy for people, other than Custos.”

  “I’d never ask you to go in your condition, Fitz. Just prepare us. Tell us everything we need to know. I don’t feel like time is on our side.”

  “I’ll do the best I can, Mercy.” Fitz answered. “You need to know that getting there isn’t for the faint of heart.” He shook his head, disapprovingly. “I’m not sure your father would agree to this . . .”

  “He isn’t here,” I whispered. “Plus, I don’t feel like there’s another option.”

  Drake stomped off to the bedroom and slammed the door without a word.

  “He’s scared of losing you,” Fitz said, sadly. “We all are.”

  I sighed, then stood to follow Drake. I knew he worried, and I’d feel the same way about him. But this was something I had to do, and I needed Drake to support me.

  I expected him to be lying across the bed, angry, with his arms above his head like usual, but the bed was bare. The rush of running water came from the bathroom, and I knocked gently but never received an answer. I cracked the bathroom door, and my heart slammed against my chest.