“You shouldn’t have run away,” he said.
He was right, and I felt awful about it. But I had to. “I know. I’m sorry. Please, I need—”
“Please help me,” Egon said mockingly, waving his hands and shaking his head. “Now that your sister’s missing, you need me. And you see I came. I dropped everything for you. I make time for you, Rinnie. I always make time for you.”
“Egon, you—”
“You’re into something that got your sister kidnapped.”
“I know, and I need your help.”
“And I want to help. But you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s going on. How can I help if I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in? What will it take for you to trust me? I came. Doesn’t that prove anything to you?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t hang out as much as you wanted. Please, help me find my sister,” I pleaded. “I trust you, Egon. I do.”
“Okay, then. Listen to me.” He took me by the shoulders. “I’m working with Dalrymple. I’ve been trailing Mason. Susie’s kidnapping has something to do with your kung fu school. My information says they’re holding her there. If you want to save her, I need you to take me there.”
I looked up into his eyes. Egon was an informant, too? How many of these people did Dalrymple have? And how clueless could they be? If Susie was at the Academy, I’d know it.
Egon brought his face close to mine. “You want to know what really bugs me?”
“No. I don’t. I want to find Susie.” This was not the time for a needy boyfriend, and I felt the first twinges of becoming majorly annoyed.
“Okay, I’ll tell you,” Egon said as though I had never spoken. “Every time I want to be with you, you hit me with an excuse—not allowed out on a school night, not feeling up to it, being late for something—always an excuse. I know it’s that school. Why is it so important to you?”
“What I am worried about,” I said, growing suddenly angry, pulling out of Egon’s grip, “is my sister. The Academy is a part of my life I was starting to regret. I was planning to quit. Because of you. I thought we had something special. But if that were true, you’d be more worried about where my sister is than about how neglected you are.”
“You are special,” Egon said, reaching for me. “And if we have special feelings for each other, we should trust each other.”
I felt anger for only a second, until Egon took my hand in both of his. Warmth and calmness washed over me. All I could feel was his soft touch, all I could see were his beautiful green eyes. Such a nice touch. Such loving eyes. So special. We belonged together.
Just like Romeo and Juliet.
Who, it occurred to me, both woke up dead.
I pulled out of Egon’s grip and my mind instantly cleared.
“How did you find me, Egon?”
Egon’s eyes narrowed. “Bobby.”
“I never told Bobby where I was going.”
“He must have read the note.”
“I never told him about any note.” I stared at Egon’s open jacket. A pen poked out of the secret agent pocket. I did a double take. Red and silver barrel with a white rectangle.
Suddenly, I understood. I backed away.
“That’s how Mason knew,” I said quietly. “Scallion hands him a ransom note, and Egon shows up. You’re the Knight.”
“Yeah, right from King Arthur’s Court, babe,” Egon said. “You’re out of your mind with fantasies about shining armor, and I love it.”
I stood up tall and straight. Mental energy rampaged through my body and concentrated in my palms. My hair poofed. “Tell me where my sister is.”
“At your school. She’s probably frightened out of her mind.”
I had never faced a Knight before, but the idea didn’t bother me anymore. In fact, I looked forward to it. My patience was below zero. Susie might already be dead. I needed answers and Egon had them. He had one more chance to tell me what was on his so-called mind before I surgically removed it. I took a menacing step toward Egon, and he backed against the alley wall.
“Babe, don’t do something we’ll both regret.”
That did it. Last chance officially withdrawn. “Don’t call me babe.” I thrust my palm forward, straight at his chest, and discharged the Mental Blast of all Mental Blasts. Egon’s hand shot out like lightning, deflecting my attack. My hand smashed into the wall, and the Blast exploded. Dust and brick shards flew everywhere.
“Is that all you got?” Egon asked, smiling at the gouge in the bricks.
I drew my Amplifier. “Not really.”
Egon laughed.
Chapter Thirty-one
Scallion Unmasked
My Thought Saber burst out in a searing flash of mental energy, screaming in anger as I attacked. Egon’s Amplifier was in his hand in less than a heartbeat. A Shield exploded out, stopping my Saber in mid-cut.
He grinned. “You fight like a girl.”
“Practice harder, and maybe someday you can, too.” I cracked a side kick through Egon’s Shield, right into his pearly whites. Good form, solid hit. Definitely a ten. Egon let out a howl of agony. His knees buckled and he crumpled to the ground. He shook his head and snarled up at me.
“Impressive.” Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He spit out a tooth. “I didn’t think I’d have to kill you, but maybe I’ll change my mind.”
“You give yourself a lot of credit.” I wasn’t nearly as brave as I sounded. Egon was way tougher than I had expected. I held back on that kick and was thinking that maybe I shouldn’t have.
“I deserve a lot of credit.” Egon’s foot shot out and hooked me by the ankle, dragging me to the ground. He leapt on top of me, pinning my wrists. I struggled, but couldn’t break his grip. He was strong. Fortunately, I knew how to deal with strong.
“Now, tell me where your school is.” Egon’s eyes were inches from mine, his breath hot on my face. “We’ll get Susie and take her there with us. I just want to see it.”
“Having trouble keeping your story straight? You said she was there.”
Egon smiled. Blood dripped from his chin and landed on my cheek. He bent closer, licked it off, and kissed me right on the lips. With his entire mouth. I felt him try to scan, so I slammed my mind shut. Egon pulled away with a jerk.
“Why does my first kiss have to come from someone who’s trying to kill me?” I growled. That totally shot his chances for a second date.
“First kiss? I am honored. Maybe we should rethink this relationship.”
“Rethink this.” I flicked the Amplifier in my pinned hand. A shadow shot around Egon’s arm like an eel.
I tugged, and he screamed. Suddenly, I was on my feet, his ghastly memories flickering through my mind like a strobe. I became Scallion.
My reflection glared back at me from the window of the dark room. I looked good. Awesomely good. The mask was a nice touch. White cranial cap, sharp mandibles, deep black eye sockets. You have done well, the master said. Now find the girl. The master wore a mask similar to mine. But I looked better. Thank you, master, I replied. You know I will. He liked it when I called him my master. He actually believed he was.
My mind flickered, and Mason stood staring at me, a mixture of terror and fury on his face. You’re not the man who murdered my mother, he said. Of course not, I told him. But I know where he is. All you have to do is whatever I tell you, and I’ll take you to him.
Then I was at the elementary school. The little girl looked at me and screamed. She was so small. I wondered why LaReau wanted her. The man had issues. But he also had money. The master didn’t know about my side job. He wouldn’t have approved. Like I cared.
Don’t touch me, the little girl yelled. Right. I struck a pressure point on her neck, and oh, it felt good! I wished I could have hit her harder. She collapsed. I covered her head with a black hood, carried her through an alley and handed her to Norman. Not now, LaReau whispered. I think I’m being followed. The coward. Maybe one day I’d take him out. I pulled off
the girl’s hood and Christie Jasmine stared wide-eyed at me. That’s okay, I said. I have a place to keep her.
The image changed. I was in the back room of the Shadow Passage. Mason came through the door, concern on his face. Captious took her, he said. I tried to stop him. Not your concern, I told him, wondering whether he was going soft on me. Let’s talk about the Class Project. Have you made the changes I asked for?
Then Tammy Angel’s face was in my mind. She wanted me. If only she knew how close she had been to me. So easy to control. I touched her hair. Tell Rubric to make Mason kill Blys. He’ll never listen, she said. When Mason asks you for 10, give it to him. Then he will do whatever Rubric tells him.
Suddenly I was in the girl’s bathroom at school, moving soundlessly toward Kathryn from behind. I held a syringe of 10 in my hand. The new 10, guaranteed to satisfy. The babes who called themselves the Red Team watched me in terrified silence. They knew to be quiet. I hated Kathryn’s goodie-two-shoes life. And her hair. I grabbed it and jerked hard. She squealed and her head snapped back. I wrapped her in a choke hold and jammed the needle into the crook of her elbow. I thought about snapping her neck, but pressed the plunger instead. Kathryn grew limp and her eyes rolled back. I shoved her hard into the stall. She hit her head on the toilet with a wonderful, bone-wrenching crunch. I pulled the stall door shut and locked it with my mind, laughing. That felt great.
The memory flickered, and Rinnie’s little sister got off the bus. She waved and smiled, and my heart raced in anticipation. Hurry, Susie, Rinnie was in an accident, I told her. Come with me, I’ll take you to the hospital. I giggled a little as her eyes filled with tears. I could smell fear on her, and worry, and a dozen other delicious emotions. Then I pulled a cloth sack over her head.
I was me again, suddenly aware that Egon was screaming in anger to take the nasty bag off his head and fight like a man. I released him from the Lash, breathing hard, soaked in sweat. An image of Susie’s angry face burned in my mind. She fought back, just like I had.
“Why?” I sputtered, shaking my head. “Egon, why?”
Egon pulled himself to his knees and stared up at me. He began to giggle under his breath, then completely lost control of himself laughing. “A Memory Lash? I can’t believe you actually thought that pathetic thing would work on me.”
He leapt to his feet and looked straight into my eyes, that expressionless expression filling his face. “I am Walpurgi. Penitence has no place in my life.”
Before I saw him move, his fist struck me across the cheek. Bright lights pulsed in my head, and I found myself looking up from the street at Egon. He was good. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. Not even Andy had ever hit me so hard. I had to give that one a ten plus.
Egon turned toward Mason’s unmoving body and shook his head. “He was a real disappointment. I think remorse may have gotten the best of him. I assumed he was stronger than that.”
“Is this where you reveal all your evil plans to me? That’s what bad guys do, right? You have some code or something that says you have to.” Spots floated in front of my eyes.
Egon’s gaze softened, and he shrugged. “You’ll be giving me some very important details before long, so it’s the least I can do. Where do I start? Mason was a lost soul looking for someone from his past. I needed a flunky. It was a beautiful arrangement. Christie was business, a little extra cash. Kathryn…well, Miss Popularity was taking too much of your attention. When she went down, there I was to console you, good old Egon. You could have avoided that if you’d made me a little bit more of a priority. No matter. You’re mine now.”
“But why Susie?” I asked, buying time for my vision to clear. “She never did anything.”
“Bait. I needed to catch a gift for my boss. Somebody wrecked a project I was responsible for. When I find out who, he’s going down. A lot of work went into it for nothing, and my boss wasn’t happy. He’s not very forgiving, you know.”
“Nicolaitan?”
“You know more than is healthy for you, Rinnie Noelle. Or should I say Lynn Morgan?”
My breath caught, but Egon didn’t seem to notice.
“He wanted retribution,” Egon continued. “I thought I could make him happy, be a hero, you know, all that good stuff. You were kind enough at the dance to let me know that you’re a Psi Fighter. When I opened your purse to take back my Amplifier, imagine my surprise when I found two! Did you really think that hidden pocket would conceal it from me? Then I learned from Bobby that you were adopted, put two and two together, and voilà! The ever-elusive Morgan girl. I was going to give you to Nicolaitan as a surprise gift.”
“Me, the legendary Morgan girl?” I was suddenly terrified for my family, but couldn’t let him know. “Wouldn’t that be something? Imagine Nicolaitan’s disappointment when you show up with the wrong person. Will he kill you?”
“I haven’t told him yet. That would ruin the surprise. Don’t worry, I’ll scan you first to make sure.”
Relief. My secret was still safe. If I could believe a Knight.
“But you know…” Egon smiled. “After that kiss, I might keep you for myself. I can give old Nico an even better surprise.”
“Let me guess. My school.”
“Your school. I don’t need the Morgan girl now that I have you. I don’t suppose you’ll make it easy and just tell me, will you? Of course, you could always join me. We’d make a great team.”
“I used to think so,” I said. “But even then, I wouldn’t have told you anything about my school.”
“Thought not. Guess I’ll have to loosen you up a bit. Psi Fighters are supposed to be tough to scan, but I think I can work around that.”
I struggled to sit up, but my body wasn’t cooperating.
Egon laughed. “Takes a while to recover from that, doesn’t it? I hit you with my special one-two combo. A sucker punch and a Mental Blast all in one. Don’t bother trying to get up. It’ll be a while.”
That explained why I couldn’t control my limbs. I felt as though the connection between my body and mind had been scrambled. I could feel everything, and my muscles worked, they just refused to do what I told them.
Egon held up his Amplifier. A whip with nine tails hissed from the end, each tail tipped with a smoky barb. “This works just like a real cat-o’-nine-tails. It won’t cut your body, but when I’m done, your mind will be so shredded you won’t be able to think. You’ll tell me everything just to make me stop.”
A wild scream rent the air, and Mason yelled, “Don’t touch her!”
Egon grunted as Mason crashed into him like a linebacker. They sailed through the air. Egon twisted, turning himself and Mason in a slow spiral. Before Mason could slam him to the street, Egon was on top, and Mason landed with a sickening crunch. Egon leapt to his feet, and began flailing Mason with the psionic cat-o’-nine-tails. The misty whip slashed across his body again and again, hissing and yowling like a cat with distemper.
Mason just sat there with a strange look on his face. Then he jumped to his feet and belted Egon right in the jaw, knocking him against the alley wall.
Definitely an eleven.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to prove with that stupid thing,” Mason said, his broken wrist pressed against his chest. “You better try something else unless you want your butt kicked. Dude, don’t you have a real weapon?”
“So it’s true.” Egon tucked the Amplifier into his secret agent pocket. “The Memory Lash changed you. You’re protected by remorse. Otherwise my Psi Cat would have ripped out your soul. Back off, Mason. This is between Rinnie and me.”
“Wrong, Egon,” Mason said. “I’m between Rinnie and you.”
Mason dove at Egon with catlike speed, hitting him waist high. They both went airborne, but with a sudden twist, Egon was out of Mason’s grip, and back on his feet. He folded his arms and stood motionless. “I was really hoping for a bit more competition, Mason. I realize your wrist hurts, but maybe you want to put on your big girl panties and t
ry again?”
Mason pulled himself up from the ground, got in Egon’s face like he was going to start yelling, then head-butted him with the force of a battering ram. “Maybe you should put your panties on.”
The head-butt drove Egon to his knees. He got to his feet, rubbing his forehead, smiling sadistically. “Want to play dirty? Let me show you what I’m really capable of.”
Egon threw a lightning-fast kick at Mason’s head, but pulled it short, stopping an inch from his face. “Oh, that would have been painful. Maybe you should try to hit me instead.”
“You got it.” Mason tucked his broken wrist against his waist. I watched in horror as he lashed out with a series of powerful punches, driving Egon backwards. Mason was fast and extremely strong, but Egon moved like a spider. Mason couldn’t touch him. Egon was playing with him, like a fly in his web.
I concentrated, ignoring the pain in my cheek caused by the punch, and focused on clearing my mind of the effects of the Mental Blast. My limbs began to feel less out of control as the connection strengthened.
Mason struck again and again, but Egon dodged with ease, taunting him with each missed blow. Suddenly, he hooked Mason’s fist and tossed him to the ground. Mason regained his feet quickly, but Egon blasted a knee into his ribs, doubling him over, then lashed out with a powerful uppercut that left Mason lying motionless on his back.
“Now,” Egon said, drawing his Amplifier, “I want to try something. This is really gonna be cool.”
A weapon slowly formed from the tip of the Amplifier, solidifying into a long-handled medieval War Hammer, the head flat on one side, spiked on the other.
Egon swung the Hammer at the wall with both hands, and chunks of brick and mortar exploded from it, landing on Mason’s face. I saw no fear in Mason’s eyes as he sat up, leaning on his elbows, glaring at Egon.
“Sorry, Bucko,” Egon said, raising the Hammer above his head. “Now that you know my secret, I’m afraid I’m going to have to kill you. You’ll have to be patient with me, though. I’ve never killed anyone before, so it’ll probably be very sloppy. And extremely painful.”
Psi Another Day (Psi Fighter Academy) Page 24