Pawn (Nightmares Trilogy #1)

by Sophie Davis

  “Our cases? I don’t really have a leg to stand on. I’m in clear violation of my contract, Endora. If I physically go into the underworld, they won’t let me back out. For that matter, they won’t let you back out.”

  “You don’t have to come, but that’s a chance I’m willing to take,” I said. Too many people had sacrificed too much for me already. This was my life, my fate, and it was time I started taking control of it. “Besides, contracts are like promises, Kannon. They’re meant to be broken.”

  I spoke with more confidence than I felt. But Mr. Wentworth had been right when he’d said I was my mother’s daughter. My mother, Evelyn Cable Andrews, was the best trial attorney in Maryland and, in my opinion, the country. Eighteen years of sharing a roof with her had taught me a lot of tricks, and I was willing to bet my soul that good lawyering transcended worlds.

  I would not sit by and wait for underworld assassins to find and kill me. I would not spend whatever was left of my life in fear or hiding like Betsy Klinefelter. I would not let Kannon die for saving my life, nor would I let the underworld have him. In the short time we’d known each other, he’d become too important to me. Enough people had been hurt on my account. No matter what happened to me, I would not let Kannon share my fate.

  I would meet this fight head-on. I would reclaim the right to make my own destiny. I might not be able to change the way the world worked and return free will to everyone, but I could and would get back mine.

  Sacrifice, Nightmares Trilogy #2…Winter 2013

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Talented, the first book in the Talented Saga

  Chapter One

  An earsplitting wail punctured the silent night, shattering the illusions of my dream world and bringing me back to reality. My eyes popped open, becoming instantly alert as the sound reverberated through the dark cabin again. I bolted upright in my bed. Terror seized me. I knew that noise. In school, I had done monthly drills in response to that noise. Emphasis on drills. I’d never heard the sirens for real. I’d hoped I never would either. Even now, as the warning bells blared through the speakers in the clearing outside of my cabin, I prayed it was just a test.

  I could only see the parts of my room illuminated by the ribbons of artificial lights streaming through the slits of the wooden blinds covering the windows. In the short time I’d been awake, my swollen eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Hastily, I threw the blanket back as my trained eyes darted around the cabin. The other two beds were empty. Crap. Henri and Erik, my cabin mates, must have heard the invasion sirens and run out immediately. How had I slept through that? Why didn’t they wake me up? Assholes.

  I didn’t waste time putting on real clothes, or even shoes. I flung the cabin door open with my mind before I was fully out of my bed. Running into the night; pajamas, bare feet and all, I sprinted straight into the center of Hunters Village. I stopped abruptly; for all of the training drills I’d taken part in at school, there had yet to be a single drill since my arrival at Elite Headquarters two weeks ago. I had no idea where I was supposed to go, or what I was supposed to do. Breathe, Talia, I reminded myself. Just breathe.

  The night air was unseasonably warm for late September, but a chill ran through my body, all the way to my bones, as panic gripped and twisted my insides. The sirens sounded again. We were under attack. Someone was attacking Elite Headquarters. Calm down. You need to breathe, I ordered myself. I forcibly inhaled the warm air through my nose and then blew it out, unsteadily, through clenched teeth.

  Slowly, I turned and pivoted in a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree circle. Chaos was the only way to describe the scene surrounding me. Pledges streamed from the cabins around Hunters Village. Panicked screams pierced the silence between siren blasts. I dug my nails sharply into my palms to prevent my own fear-driven yelps from escaping. Clear your mind. Focus. Concentrate your energy, I coached myself. Trying to obey my own commands, I closed my eyes and forced my mind to go blank.

  My hypersensitive ears immediately registered a faint whizzing sound from above. I tilted my head back as I opened my eyes. The night sky looked as if it were falling, one star at a time. It took several seconds for my mind to process what my eyes were seeing; stars weren’t falling out of the night sky, but bombs were. Swallowing over the lump in my throat, I forced the unpleasantness clawing its way to my mouth back down. The people who panic in a crisis are the people who die, I reminded myself.

  The bombs exploded, expelling bright neon liquid when they made contact with the ground. One landed several feet in front of where I stood. Fear got the better of me and I screamed as the bomb burst and several drops of the glowing liquid hit my bare skin. I wiped at my calves, frantically smearing the fluid with my palms. I rubbed my hands on my thin t-shirt and it instantly began to glow. I waited for pain that never came. I stared, wide-eyed, as bomb after bomb detonated on the ground, leaving neon puddles in their wake. Pledges ran with hands over their heads in an attempt to protect their faces.

  I needed to do something, anything, besides standing here waiting for another bomb to hit me. I concentrated all of my considerable mental energy on the falling explosives and focused on slowing their descent. After several seconds, the bombs froze in mid-air. I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I had been holding as I strained with the effort of holding them in place.

  Opening my mind, I felt a flood of mixed emotions. The panic radiating from the other Pledges’ brains mirrored my own. Strangely, I also felt enjoyment, laughter even, mingled with the fear and anxiety. Confusion engulfed my other emotions.

  What was going on? Donavon, I thought. I needed to find Donavon; he would know what was going on. I pulled some of my mental focus away from holding the bombs and sought out Donavon’s mind. It took me only seconds to find him, but once I did, I was even more perplexed.

  Donavon was laughing. I could feel his glee as he watched the scene I was currently starring into from a different vantage point. I honed in on his exact location; he was close. Concentrating harder, I slipped deeper in to his head. Finally, I saw Hunters Village through his eyes. I knew exactly where he was standing - on a small hill that overlooked the Village.

  “Donavon?” I mentally called out to him.

  “Welcome to the Hunters, Tal,” he laughed.

  “WHAT?!?” my mental voice screamed at him. Was he joking?? This was an initiation ritual?? Irritation quickly replaced my fear and confusion.

  I narrowed my eyes in his general direction; I had a feeling he could see me from his perch, even though I couldn’t see him. I was so annoyed at being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night that I let my mental hold on the “bombs” slip, causing one that had been hovering not far over my head to hit me square in the face. I opened my mouth to scream and the neon liquid nearly choked me. Accidentally swallowing a huge gulp, I began to gag. I fell to my knees, retching, and willed myself to throw up the unknown substance.

  Donavon’s laughter filled my head again, “It’s just colored water, Tal.”

  He clearly found the situation hysterical, and himself clever. Anger washed over me. The last two weeks had been the most physically demanding of my life and now I was being roused from bed in the middle of the night to have faux bombs launched at me??? So not funny.

  I concentrated on what I now knew to be water balloons – I picked that detail out of Donavon’s mind – and refocused my energy to freeze them in mid-fall again. I honed in on Donavon’s mind and forced the balloons back through the air to their origin, to Donavon and his group of cohorts. Not waiting for his reaction, I turned on my heel and walked back into my cabin, slamming the door, and crawled back into bed, not caring that I still looked radioactive.

  I had the covers pulled over my head when I heard the door open, accompanied by loud laughter.

  “Talia,” Erik called, “come out and play.”

  “Leave me alone, you ass,” I snapped. Three distinct sets of laughter chorused in response. I felt the covers being yanked back. I clung to
the soft fabric of my white comforter, but I was no match for the three boys. I kicked and punched as Donavon leaned over me. His dark blonde hair was soaked with the neon liquid, making me feel a little better.

  “Don’t be a spoil sport, Tal,” he laughed. “This is your formal welcome into Hunters Pledging.”

  He wanted to see a spoil sport? I would show him a spoil sport. I kicked him in the stomach, hard, and he grunted. I flashed him a wicked smile. Erik pinned my legs down, giving Donavon the opportunity to scoop me up off my bed. I continued to squirm as he carried me across the cabin and back out into the night. He had over a foot and close to a hundred pounds on me, so my efforts were in vain.

  “Come on, Talia, it’s almost over,” Erik whispered as he walked next to us. I craned my neck to face him and gave him a nasty look. He just laughed; I was hardly a threat at the moment.

  Donavon carried me over to where a group of other Pledges had already begun to congregate. He placed me on my bare feet in the wet grass but kept his hands firmly on my upper arms. Mentally I sent him a string of angry expletives. I didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling; he was enjoying my discomfort way too much.

  “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Henri Reich,” an extremely tall, lean boy said, quieting all of the side conversations taking place among those gathered. “This is a little something we at the Hunters like to do as a welcome to the new Pledges. I know you guys have all been working really hard these past two weeks. Making it this far means you’ve passed the initial phase of training and are well on your way to graduating and becoming full-fledged Hunters. Congratulations.”

  When Henri stopped talking, Donavon released my arms. He stepped back so quickly I stumbled, nearly falling over. Donavon was not the only one who had retreated, all of the older Hunters had moved away from us, leaving me and the other Pledges standing in the center of a new circle. More balloons rained down on the small group of us before I could register what was happening. These balloons were filled with a thick, gooey liquid in varying colors: paint. I used my hands to shield my head, but it didn’t actually help.

  When the color assault finally ended, I removed my hands and looked around at the older Hunters. Some were doubled over, they were laughing so hard. Even the most serious of the group were shaking with silent laughter. I scowled, hoping this was the only welcoming gesture they’d planned for us.

  Donavon materialized behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “Are you mad at me?” he whispered into my ear. I reached my paint-covered hands up to his face and smeared squiggles down his cheeks. Then I ran my fingers through his damp, blonde hair, leaving most of the paint behind.

  “Not at all,” I smiled sweetly.

  “Enough, enough. I can’t take all the cuteness,” Erik joked, coming over to us. “Congrats. Tal, you made it through your first round of training, and now you are officially a member of the most awesome Hunting team ever - mine,” he said, smiling broadly. Erik had smears of turquoise paint, the same color as his eyes, across each of his high cheekbones; the color complemented his tan skin nicely. He leaned down to hug me and I noticed flecks of purple and red paint decorating his thick black hair. I gave him a half-hearted hug in return.

  “Talia, I’m glad to have you as part of our team,” Henri said as he wrapped one of his long arms around my shoulders.

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely. “I’m really glad to be here.” I was. This was what I’d been working towards since I’d started attending the McDonough School for the Talented seven years ago.

  At the end of their junior year, students selected the top three divisions of the Agency in which they wanted to work after graduation. Then a Placement Committee – consisting of each division head, the Director of the Agency and McDonough’s headmistress – reviewed each student’s test scores, their Talent and their Talent ranking, and assigned them to a division. Students spent their senior, or pledge, year as the Agency termed it, working and training with their designated department. Not every student scored high enough to be rewarded with one of his top three choices, those students were randomly doled out to the less desirable divisions. The Hunters had been my top choice - my only choice. I knew I wanted, needed, to be a Hunter from my very first day.

  For most, it’s an easy decision; they go with other Talents of their kind. Others, like me, want to do something different; their particular ability does not have a niche. It’s not unheard of for Talents besides Morphers, Light Manipulators, or Telekinetics to become Hunters, but I am one of the few who actually did. Most non-morphing Hunters aren’t assigned to a team, but serve as “floaters” instead. Floaters are Hunters that join individual Hunting teams on a short-term basis, usually for just one Hunting mission, to lend their individual specialty when it’s needed.

  “The food and drinks are on their way out, so please take advantage. As a special treat, curfew for the night has been lifted. And there will no training until after lunchtime tomorrow, so enjoy yourselves,” Henri called to the entire group.

  Upon arriving at Elite Headquarters to start our Pledge year, each Pledge was assigned to a Hunting team with a vacancy. Hunting teams have three members, but when one member left– for whatever reason – the Agency replaced him, or her, with a Pledge. Part of what made the Hunters such a competitive division was the fact that they only took as many Pledges as there were vacant Hunting positions. This year only fifteen of us were accepted, much less than most years.

  I’d been assigned to Henri Reich and Erik Kelley’s Hunting team. Henri was the oldest, and the leader of our trio. He stood almost two feet taller than me and was all lean muscle. His eyes were a warm, light brown, and he wore his hair just a little longer than most Hunters would have. Henri had been kind and patient in my short time working with him.

  Erik was his polar opposite. He was only a couple of years younger than Henri, but was much more immature. It had amazed me to learn they were such good friends; regularly hanging out in their free time. Erik was shorter – somewhere right in the middle of Henri’s height and mine – and more muscular than Henri, but by no means bulky. His thick, dark hair naturally fell to one side, and was long enough that he used a bandana to keep it out of his face when we practiced. He had extraordinary turquoise eyes; peculiar eye colors were a byproduct of the same nuclear spill that had caused our Talents. My own unnatural purplish-blue eyes were a result of the same catastrophe.

  Several more Hunters came over to welcome me and offer their congratulations. Graciously, I thanked them. Donavon grabbed my hand and led me away from the group after a short, squat boy with dark brown hair, whose name might have been Lenyx, had extended his felicitations.

  “Thanks,” I mentally sent him.

  I wasn’t exactly what you would call social. For most of my life, I’ve had only one friend: Donavon. My parents had hired private tutors for me since we had never stayed in one place long enough for me to go to school and I rarely had the opportunity to spend time with other children. Donavon was a social butterfly, but he knew that large groups of people make me uncomfortable.

  “I figured you might want to get away.”

  “What makes you think I want to get away with you?” I teased him. He pulled me close, wrapping one arm around my waist, and lifted me off of my feet until our lips met. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him back; I could never stay mad at him for very long.

  “Told you that you wanted to get away with me,” he whispered in my ear, setting me back on my bare feet. His breath tickled my ear, and I giggled in spite of myself.

  He took my hand and led me behind the semi-circle of cabins, known at Headquarters as Hunters Village, and into the woods. We followed a short dirt path through the trees and into another small clearing. There was a small fire already blazing in the center of the clearing, and blankets and pillows were spread out next to it.

  “It’s been so long since we spent time alone together. I thought that since you don’t have a c
urfew tonight, maybe we could sleep under the stars.” His mental voice sounded tentative. I could tell he was afraid that I’d say no.

  We hadn’t spent much time together, just the two of us, in nearly a year. Since I was younger than Donavon, I still had to complete my time at school while he’d come to Headquarters. The time apart had been hard on both of us. I’d seen him on holidays, and the occasional weekend he’d been allowed to leave, and we’d talked daily, but it had been a huge change from seeing each other in classes and at every meal. One of the things I’d been looking forward to the most was being around him again.

  I strode confidently towards the blankets and sat down. I patted a spot on the fabric next to me. Donavon gave me a huge smile and took a seat, folding his long legs underneath him.

  “Donavon . . .,” I mentally began, looking at my hands uncomfortably. I did want to spend the night with him out here, under the stars, but I also didn’t want him to get the wrong idea.

  He lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his clear blue eyes.

  “I know, Tal. No pressure. I just want to spend time with you.” His mental voice was soft.

  “Thank you,” I said out loud, giving him an appreciative half-grin. Donavon was only a year older than me, but that year seemed to make all the difference when it came to taking the next step in our relationship.

  We both lay down with our heads on the pillows, facing each other. Donavon draped one arm over my small waist and extended the other one under my head. We stayed like that for the rest of the night. Nobody walking by would have been able to overhear our conversation, even though we talked until just before sunrise. Our entire exchange took place mentally. We rarely spoke “normally”, not since that first summer when we met.

  Donavon pulled me in closer, and I buried my face in his broad chest feeling comfortable, and relaxed for the first time since arriving at Elite Headquarters.