The Naturals Trilogy

by Madeline Freeman

  “Yes, I do think there’s going to be a time when Morgan’s the one directing things. But today isn’t that day.” He ran his hand through is hair, pausing to grip the strands at the base of his neck for a moment before continuing. “Whether you can see it or not, everything we’re doing is in your best interest. There are times that we may seem shortsighted to you, or we may seem to disregard your thoughts or opinions—but we’re not. We’re just… a little less impetuous than you are. With caution comes safety. With a plan comes results.”

  He looked at each one of them, making eye contact. Morgan thought his gaze rested longer on Corbin than the rest of them, but before she could glance at Corbin for verification, Greg was talking again.

  “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one night. I’ll see you all in the morning.” He walked across the living room toward the opposite hallway, his feet dragging ever so slightly as he moved.

  Joss exhaled noisily. “I guess it’s time for bed. Dibs on the bathroom.”

  “Not if I get there first,” Lucas challenged.

  Morgan didn’t watch as the two of them took off down their hallway, but she could hear the sounds of their laughter and pounding feet. Instead, her attention went to Corbin, who was staring blankly in the direction of a nearby sofa. She approached him, resting a hand on the small of his back. “You okay?”

  Corbin looked at her, jumping slightly as if surprised to find her beside him. “Yeah, I’m just…” He sighed and managed a small smile. “That thing Greg said about having a plan and getting results—do you believe that?”

  Morgan searched his face. There was something more to his question, she could tell, but even without pushing forward with her abilities she could tell that Corbin was keeping his emotions and thoughts closed off. Instead of trying to figure out what Corbin wanted to hear, she considered his question carefully. “I think… I think I do. Despite what he thinks tonight, I do trust Greg. And I know being cooped up here isn’t ideal, I have to believe that we’re here because there’s a plan—and I like to think that plan’s a good one.”

  Corbin nodded. “I wanna think that, too.” He jerked his chin in the direction of their bedrooms and headed down the hallway. Morgan followed him. He paused outside her room, as he often did, and she inclined her face for a kiss. Corbin surprised her by giving her a one-arm side hug instead. “’Night,” he murmured, heading across the hall to his room.

  Morgan watched him until he disappeared behind his door, wanting to decipher Corbin’s actions but too tired to. Instead, she let herself into her own room and made her way to her bed, hoping for exhaustion so complete as to stave off her nightmares. She wasn’t sure how Corbin would react to her arriving in his room tonight.

  Chapter Six

  Several days dissolved into each other without incident, though not without some marked differences in routine. While it was normal for Wen to leave the cabin for a variety of super-secret reasons, it was decidedly abnormal for Greg to do so. When pressed, Wen insisted Greg had merely drawn the short straw this time, Morgan couldn’t help wonder if the events of Thanksgiving caused Greg to crave some space and a change of scenery.

  Another difference was Lia. Though she still ate meals in the dining room and attended training, she spent the rest of her time holed up in her room. Joss and Morgan tried on several occasions to visit with her but were turned away each time.

  But the final—and perhaps the most disconcerting—difference was the change in Corbin. The changes were subtle, and Morgan wondered if she were the only one who noticed them; indeed, at times she wondered if she were merely imagining them. Though he still gravitated toward her in a room, still comforted her the two nights she’d appeared at his bedside after awaking from nightmares, he seemed somehow distant, cooler than usual.

  After training about a week after Thanksgiving, Morgan resolved to approach him about it. She and Joss had finished their Moving exercises before Corbin’s training with Lucas ended, so Morgan set up in her room, mentally rehearsing what she would say to him. When she sensed Corbin enter his room, she decided to give him a minute to acclimate before bursting in after him. She silently counted to sixty before placing her hand on her doorknob.

  As if the act had set of some sort of sensor, an alarm pierced through Morgan’s mind. She flinched, pulling her hand away from the door and pressing her hands to her ears, muttering a curse when it did nothing to stifle the noise.

  Training kicked in then, and, like a Pavlovian dog responding to a bell, she knew exactly what the sound meant. By the time she made it to the living room, the others already assembled. Falling into line beside Lucas, she caught his eye. His expression told her he knew no more than she did.

  Morgan’s gaze went to the kitchen but didn’t make a move toward it. No one had yet indicated they should do so.

  Ellie’s alarm stopped and Wen cleared his throat. “There’s a situation.”

  “The Veneret?” Joss squeaked. “They found us?”

  Wen’s gaze softened as it rested on Joss. “Calm down.”

  Ellie cleared her throat, giving her brother a pointed look. “I’m going to need you all to hide in one of the bedrooms and wall off your presence. Do your best to just read like it’s an empty room—don’t make it look like a void.” She looked at Lucas, Corbin, and Morgan each in turn. “Do you understand what I mean?”

  Morgan and Lucas nodded.

  “What’s going on?” Corbin asked.

  Ellie gave a curt shake of her head. “I just need you to do it. I’ll explain later—”

  Morgan nodded and placed a hand on Corbin’s arm. “We’ll do it.” When Corbin raised an incredulous eyebrow at her, she added, “We trust you guys and we’ll do what you ask.”

  “Why…” ventured Joss tentatively. “Why aren’t we hiding in the bunker?”

  “There’s no time to explain right now,” Wen said.

  Morgan tugged at Corbin’s arm and he started toward the hallway at her side. She took a breath to center her energy, but something unbidden flashed in her mind. Stunned, she stopped and turned back to face Wen. “Kellen?”

  Corbin’s body went rigid. Lucas, Lia, and Joss, who had all been following Morgan, stopped as well.

  Wen’s mouth formed a tight line. He glanced apologetically at his sister before turning his attention to the five. “Morgan, now is not the time to waste your energy breaking into my thoughts—”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to. I just Saw it. We’re going.” Without hesitation, she turned back toward the hallway and made her way for her bedroom. She didn’t have to turn to know the others were following her.

  Lucas closed the door when they’d all entered the room. For a moment, they all just stood awkwardly, looking at each other.

  “Make yourselves comfortable,” Joss said, sitting on her bed. “We might be in here a while.”

  Lia joined Joss on her bed and Lucas crossed to Morgan’s mattress and settled there. Corbin maneuvered a desk chair to the center of the room and sank into it. Morgan debated a moment before joining Lucas on her bed.

  “Okay,” she said, relaxing her shoulders. “Just like at training.”

  The others needed no further instruction. As she had so many times before, Morgan reached out with her mind and joined with the energies of the others. “Lucas, you wanna build the wall?”

  He didn’t respond, but he didn’t need to. Morgan Felt his energy take control of the situation. Of the five of them, he had the most experience with a wall like the one Ellie wanted them to put up. Neither the Veneret nor the Watchers had any indication of Lucas’s abilities because of his innate ability to block off his energy. Part of his training had helped him become aware of the process behind it.

  It didn’t take long for the wall to be built. Corbin added his assistance immediately, but Morgan took a moment to guide the energies of Lia and Joss so they would know what to do. And when Morgan finally contributed her full effort to the shield
, she felt it thrum with power. No one would know they were there now.

  They sat for minutes in silence, energies focused entirely on the task at hand. Abruptly, Corbin pushed a thought into Morgan’s mind. What about Kellen?

  She could tell he’d been waiting to ask. It was the same questions that was turning over in own mind. Indeed, what about Kellen? He was the first person to tell Morgan about her abilities, to insist that her mother was still alive after a decade with no breath of proof. He introduced her to a world she didn’t know existed and pushed her to a new level of awareness that her abilities opened up to her. But he also supported Orrick and the Veneret agenda: he thought of the common as somehow less because they didn’t possess abilities and felt it was his right to take their energy to bolster his own. But then he had also taken a risk to warn Morgan about Aurelia and the team of Veneret focused on infiltrating her mind, and risked even more by allowing her to escape from a trap that had been set for her. Her thoughts about him always swirled up a jumbled mix of emotions that she couldn’t sort through.

  She became aware of a feeling of expectation emanating from Corbin and pulled her thoughts back to the present. I’m not sure exactly what about him. But I think whatever the reason is for us to be shielding ourselves is tied to him somehow.

  Do you think he found us?

  It took Morgan a moment to realize it wasn’t Corbin’s question. Clearly, Lucas was aware of the conversation transpiring.

  I don’t know. If he did, why wouldn’t we be in the bunker? Now’s not the time to worry about it. Ellie and Wen’ll tell us later. We shouldn’t be wasting our energy trying to figure it out.

  Morgan took the lack of follow up conversation as agreement with her position. As curious as Morgan was to learn the answer to these questions for herself, she didn’t allow her mind to stray away from keeping their wall up. She reasoned she could easily open herself for a moment to what was occurring in the rest of the cabin, but she wouldn’t chance it. If Ellie and Wen had thought the situation warranted a trip to the bunker, that is where they’d be. For whatever reason, they had determined it wasn’t necessary. She tamped down any apprehension she had about their decision, reminding herself she didn’t have all the information.

  Minutes stretched out like a road before them, seemingly continuing unceasingly over the horizon. So focused on keeping their presence hidden was Morgan that she didn’t realize just how much time had passed until she sensed a building wave of impatience emanating from Corbin. When she allowed herself to divert a piece of her attention to the others in the room, she realized that Corbin wasn’t the only one who was distracted. A pronounced boredom radiated from Joss and Lia. Morgan opened her eyes and noticed that Lia’s head was tipped back and she was staring at the ceiling. Joss was painting her nails.

  Irritation flared through Morgan. Seriously, guys? You’ve gotta stay focused. Ellie told us to keep ourselves hidden.

  Joss looked up from her fingernails. It’s been forever. How do we know this isn’t just some training test?

  So what if it is? Morgan raised an eyebrow at her cousin. And what if it isn’t?

  How do we know it wasn’t some kind of trap? Corbin’s emotions suggested foreboding. If you’re right and this does have something to do with Kellen… What if there was some sort of ambush and Ellie and Wen’ve been captured or hurt—or worse?

  A trickle of fear entered Morgan’s veins. That couldn’t be the case. Could it? She took in a breath. It couldn’t be, she decided, since—at the very least—if there had been some sort of ambush here at the cabin, they’d likely have heard something and someone would have found them by now.

  Morgan felt her attention wandering and her heart began to thunder: she wasn’t focusing on keeping the wall up anymore. Immediately, she refocused her mind and took inventory of their safety. A thought pressed its way into her mind and she locked eyes with Lucas.

  It’s okay. I’ve got this.

  As she examined their defenses with her abilities, Morgan realized he was correct. Where she and the others had slackened their vigilance, Lucas had increased his efforts. Though his face remained placid and impassive, Morgan could sense the enormous amount of energy he was expelling on their behalf.

  She had little time to marvel at his strength, however, because at that moment, the door to the bedroom opened.

  Chapter Seven

  Eyes on the door, Morgan sprang to her feet. Around her, she felt the others do the same. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, but somehow she felt ready to face whoever might pass through the door.

  After a moment, Greg stepped into the room. He glanced at the five and a smile flitted across his face. “It’s only me. You can stand down.”

  On the contrary, Joss bounded toward him, throwing her arms around his shoulders enthusiastically. “I’m so glad you’re back! That means we’re safe, right? Can we leave the room?”

  Morgan smiled at the look on Greg’s face as he gently pressed Joss from him. “Yes, I’m back. And I’ve got… Well, there’s something of a special circumstance.”

  Morgan leaned back so she was seated on the edge of her mattress. “What’s going on?” She almost added “with Kellen,” but something in Corbin’s posture caused her pause.

  Greg met her eyes briefly, the look there telling her he understood what she was really asking. “First, let me say that we believe you all are entirely safe. We wouldn’t do anything if we didn’t believe that.”

  Corbin bristled. Morgan crossed to him and placed a hand in his and squeezed it. He didn’t return the pressure.

  Greg took another step into the room and closed the door behind him. “Wen told me that before you all came in here, Morgan Saw that Kellen was somehow involved. Well, she’s right. That’s why I left the cabin after Thanksgiving. Kellen turned up at a safe house a couple of counties away.”

  “Turned up?” Joss asked.

  “A few counties away?” Lia looked nervous. “Does that mean the Veneret know where we’re at?”

  Greg held up an allaying hand. “No, there’s no reason to think the Veneret know where we are. True, he was a few counties away, but up here, a being a few counties off is about as good as being the next state over. He was operating on some outdated information he got from Tesin.”

  “Outdated?” Lia asked.

  Greg nodded. “Safe house locations are on a need-to-know basis, and even the people who need to know rotate. Whoever Tesin got his information from wasn’t high on the list. The safe house Kellen was heading for isn’t in use.”

  “And why was he heading toward a safe house?” asked Joss.

  “Because he wanted to turn himself in.” Morgan looked at Greg for confirmation.

  He nodded. “Allegedly, he’s seen the error of his ways and wants to help the Watchers in our fight against Orrick. He’s asking for asylum.”

  Corbin snorted. “You’re not gonna give it to him, right?”

  Greg shifted.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me! We can’t trust him. How many chances does he need to prove that to us?”

  “We’re fully aware of Kellen’s history.” He paused, glancing at Morgan. “All of it. And right now, I’m asking you to trust us.” There was a finality in Greg’s tone that let them know the topic was closed to discussion. “We’ll make a decision about his request by the end of the day.”

  “So we have to stay in here all day?” Joss asked, squirming.

  A small smile graced Greg’s lips. “No, you can come out now.”

  “But Kellen’s still here.” It wasn’t a question. Lucas simply looked at Greg with certainty in his gaze.

  “Yes.” Greg held up his hand as Corbin opened his mouth. “No matter what, we’re not just going to release him back into the world. And, if we need to, we can move to another safe house.” Corbin started to speak again, but Greg cut him off. “And he can’t use his abilities to contact the Veneret. We made sure of that before we made the decision to bring him her
e.” He glanced around the room once before turning to the door. “You can come out when you’re ready. There’s no danger.”

  There was silence in the room for a few moments after Greg closed the door. Joss was the first to move.

  “You’re not going out there, are you?” Lia demanded.

  Joss was already halfway to the door. “I’ve had to pee for the last half hour. At this point, I wouldn’t care if Orrick Williams himself was standing outside this door.” She darted out into the hallway before anyone could respond.

  Lia shifted uncomfortably. Without even looking in her direction, Morgan understood the struggle that was going on in Lia’s mind: she wasn’t sure whether to stay in the room or venture out. Morgan felt the same way. Her first instinct was to leave the room to seek out food—they had been in there an awfully long time. Also, there was a sort of draw to the idea of seeing Kellen again. She couldn’t rationalize it to herself, except to think that perhaps their shared story wasn’t done being written yet.

  An image of Kellen sitting in a chair in a warehouse came to mind. The memory of the last night she’d seen him flooded her, his body twitching, his energy slowly draining away. Somehow, she couldn’t convince herself that it had been a ploy. Kellen had allowed Morgan to escape when she ran into a trap, and he had almost paid with his life. That said something about him, didn’t it?

  Still, something kept her seated. Not something, she realized: Corbin. He was seething in his spot beside her. She glanced at him warily, unsure she wanted to see whatever look he had in his eyes. “Corbin? You okay?”

  His lips formed a tight line and there was a hard set to his jaw. “I can’t believe this.”

  She placed a hand on his shoulder. “They haven’t made any decisions yet.”

  He snorted. “Sure they haven’t.” He shifted away from her touch. “Nothing good’s gonna come from this, you watch.”

  Morgan shifted, self-consciously pulling her arm to her side. “You never know,” she said quietly. “Maybe he’s got some good intel, at least.”