Shine: Season One (Shine Season Book 1)

by William Bernhardt

  My throat tightened. I’d left her back in New York with Nanny Gorda. I thought about my sister constantly. To say I missed her was an understatement. Since she’d been diagnosed with leukemia, I’d tried to be a better sister. I felt as though I’d failed. I hoped Katelyn didn’t see it that way. “She’s home. She’s safe. She wanted me to come out here. I didn’t want to leave her, but she insisted. You know how she is.”

  Mom let out a soft laugh. I missed her laugh. “Yes, I know.”

  I tapped the armrest, watching as Naomi returned from the vending machines with an armful of chips and sodas. Her kinky curls bounced as she walked. She had a round, full figure that could have made her appear cute and harmless, until you looked at her eyes. She was trained to kill. I wouldn’t go up against her. I knew better.

  “June,” my mom said. “I’ll talk to your dad and see if we can cut the trip off early. Please promise me you’ll be home when we get back.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve told you.”

  “But how can I trust that you won’t get hurt?”

  “Because I’m eighteen now. I can handle myself. Plus Naomi’s here.”

  “Naomi’s with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you say so sooner? Baby girl, you’ll give your mother a heart attack.” I couldn’t hear her heartbeats over the phone, but I didn’t have to. My Shine ability allowed me to hear heartbeats. Mom’s had always been so steady, so comforting.

  “Mom, your heart is fine.”

  She let out an exasperated sigh. “As long as Naomi’s with you I’ll feel a little better. But June, you have to come home. Whatever it is you’re doing, you have to stop. It’s too dangerous. You could get killed. Promise you’ll come home as soon as you can.”

  “I can’t promise that.”

  “June—”

  “Mom, I’m sorry. But I have to follow through with this. It’s my only chance of stopping a very evil person, who will only keep hurting Shines. The cops won’t help anymore, you know that. I have to do this.”

  Silence filled the line. The sad thing was, I knew I could convince her. She knew as well as I did that I had to finish this. But I missed her. I wanted to hug her and tell her how much I loved her. We’d grown apart in the last couple years, but I still missed her.

  “All right,” she finally conceded. “But you have to promise me that you’ll be safe.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “I miss my June-bug. And your dad misses you too. We love you.”

  Daddy. Ouch. He’s the one who let the info slip about my Shine ability. If not for him, I wouldn’t be here. But I didn’t mention it to Mom. Best to let her believe the lie my father created about himself. The senator. The family man. “I love you, too.”

  I ended the phone call. My hands shook as I stuffed the phone in my hoodie’s pocket. Naomi handed me a bag of Doritos. “How’s your mum?”

  “Worried, as always.”

  “At least I’m with you.” She winked at me. “Here to save you and all.”

  “Whatever.” I opened the bag and nibbled a chip, though hunger escaped me. I glanced at Memphis, who seemed focused on the sprawling view in front of us. The hot New Orleans sun reflected off the pavement. Two guys wearing dark suits and carrying briefcases crossed the tarmac. Memphis stiffened.

  “Something wrong?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “Not sure. Everyone seems like a threat.”

  “Everyone is a threat,” Naomi answered. “We all have the ability to do horrible things, it all depends on whether we choose to do them or not.”

  “That’s comforting,” I said.

  “It’s the truth,” she answered.

  Memphis sat up straight. He zeroed in on the two guys who climbed a ladder leading to the terminal. As they approached, I saw Memphis reach for his knife that he’d concealed in his boot. How he’d slipped past security with that thing I had no clue, but he’d always had a knack for disappearing and reappearing whenever he needed.

  “Stay close,” Memphis said. “Don’t make any sudden movements.”

  The two guys entered the terminal. Warm, muggy air wafted in through the open door. Despite the heat, they both wore black suits with long sleeves. A stewardess clicked the door shut behind them, and that’s when I saw them. Name tags. They both wore name tags. The little black rectangles denoted them as missionaries.

  I let go of my breath.

  “Jumpy, lately?” I asked Memphis.

  His shoulders relaxed, though his eyes still tracked the men as they walked past.

  Naomi crunched a chip. “You’ll have a heart attack by the end of the day. I swear it.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with being cautious.”

  “True, but you’re not just cautious. You’re paranoid.”

  Memphis narrowed his eyes at her.

  Naomi took a sip of her Coke. “Where are we off to next? Another mansion with a hidden Shine facility? Another dingy motel? A dungeon? A pit of venomous vipers, perhaps?”

  He eyed her. “My home.”

  She raised an eyebrow. Up until now, I’d never thought of Memphis having a home. Not long ago he’d been a Shine bounty hunter, a Reven. My captor. That had changed when he’d rescued me from a Shine facility off the coast of Prince Edward Island. He’d kept secrets from me after that, until I’d learned the truth about him. He was ex-Special Forces. Trained to fight. Trained to lie. Even I couldn’t detect his lies. And he’d told me quite a few.

  “Home?” Naomi asked. “You have one?”

  “Of course,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I have a home?”

  “You just don’t seem the type.”

  “Then you must not know what type I am.”

  She crossed her arms. “I’m pretty sure I do.”

  He stood. “Let’s go. It’s not safe to be out in public like this.”

  “Why?” I asked. “We know the Revens can’t track the money. They would’ve found us by now.”

  “It’s not the Revens I worry about anymore.”

  “Then who?”

  “The true followers of le Tueur Revenant. The Revenants.”

  “You think they’re after us?”

  “No, I know they are. And they won’t stop looking until they’ve found you.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  My heart quickened. Revens I could deal with. I’d been fighting them in New York for years now. They were easy to defeat as long as I held my ground. But the Revenants—if they were anything like the ghost man we’d encountered in the underground Shine facility, then I wasn’t prepared.

  But I had to be brave. The ghost man—le Tueur Revenant—was the reason I came to New Orleans. I would stop him from hurting other girls. If he could be stopped.

  Memphis spoke up. “Revenants aren’t thugs looking for their next paycheck. They’re smarter, more efficient. Most are trained in the highest levels of the military. They’ll track you down and capture you before you have a chance to fight. They could be anywhere. Or anyone.”

  I scanned the terminal, scrutinizing each person. The young family with the cute toddler. The man with a guitar case. The woman with the hot pink French Quarter Live! T-shirt. Everyone seemed so frustratingly normal. How could we fight them if we couldn’t find them?

  “Let’s hurry. I’m parked on level three. Let’s get out of here before anyone gets interested in us,” Memphis said as he led us out of the terminal. The chorus of beating hearts came to me. I’d grown accustomed to the sound over the years, the whirring, the sound of life. But now I listened with apprehension, realizing that any one of those beating hearts could represent a person trying to hurt me. To kill me.

  We made it out of Terminal C and found the exit to the parking garage.

  As we stepped outside, the humidity came as a shock. I should’ve realized that the air would be stickier and hotter here, but I felt as if I’d been smothered with plastic wrap.


  We crossed the street and entered the garage. Lit with only dull orange lights that were spaced far apart, it took my eyes a while to adjust. We walked alone through the patchwork of concrete beams and low sloping ceilings.

  Our feet echoed like beating hearts. My own heart rate accelerated. Why were we the only people here? Where was everyone else? I focused on each car, on each pillar and every hiding place, using my Shine to search for threats. I detected no other heartbeats except for our own, though I felt no less antsy.

  “Found it.” Memphis walked to a pickup and unlocked the door.

  As my eyes adjusted I got a good look at his truck. The doors, hood, and cab were a patchwork of different colors. I wasn’t even sure what make or model to call it.

  I stood away from the truck as he opened the door and ushered us inside. Naomi stood beside me.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked us.

  “Your truck,” Naomi answered.

  “What’s the matter with it?”

  “Well, for starters, does it run?”

  He crossed his arms. “Of course it runs.”

  Naomi raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m pretty sure,” he added after a pause.

  “Pretty sure?” Naomi asked.

  He shot her a dark look before tossing our luggage into the back, and then motioned for us to climb inside. Naomi and I traded nervous glances as we scooted in.

  At least he’d kept it clean. The cab was roomier than I expected, and had the faint scent of dryer sheets. I sat between Naomi and Memphis. The door slammed shut with a bang. Memphis stuck his keys in the ignition. It rolled over several times. I held my breath. I noticed that Naomi crossed her fingers.

  “Sitting ducks, aren’t we?” she said.

  “Just give me a minute. It’s been awhile.”

  The engine cranked on the third try. Memphis grinned. “See?”

  “Pure luck. That’s the only explanation,” Naomi said.

  Memphis shifted gears and we backed out of the parking spot. The engine purred as we drove down the ramp. When we pulled onto the street, the bright sunlight slanted through the windows.

  A white blur sped in front of us. I gasped as Memphis slammed on the brakes, nearly colliding with the white sedan. I got a good look at the car. At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary Camry, but the windows were tinted too dark to see inside, and the trunk and doors looked bulkier than normal, as if it were covered with armor.

  The narrow barrel of gun peeked out of the back window.

  “Get down!” Memphis shouted.

  My thoughts became a blur as I unlocked my seat belt with shaky fingers and slid to the floor. The truck swerved. I slammed into Memphis’s leg, making his foot slip off the accelerator. Memphis cursed. The truck slowed, and then he slammed his foot on the gas. My shoulder rammed the underside of the seat.

  I heard a shrill ping, and then the sound of shattering glass came from above me. I covered my head as I crouched on the truck’s floor. My heart raced. My thoughts grew frantic. Were we going to die? Was this the end?

  The truck swerved again. Tires squealed. I tucked my legs to my chest. My hands grew clammy as I knitted my fingers around my knees. Naomi sat beside me, folded onto the floorboard. I heard her heart throbbing in her chest, though not nearly as fast as mine.

  “Hold on,” Memphis yelled. He threw the truck into reverse. We bumped over something. A sidewalk, maybe? I felt the truck spin, the tires screeching loud in my ears, and wondered if the truck would flip.

  My stomach flew into my chest as we hit a much larger bump. We landed, and the entire truck’s frame made an ear-splitting groan, as if the chassis would split apart.

  I tried to get a view of the road from the back windshield, but saw only hints of buildings and blue sky crowded with blossoming pink and coral thunderheads. Lightning shot through them as we rounded another corner.

  Another ping filled the truck’s cabin. A pea-sized hole shattered through the glass, though the glass stayed in the window. Spider-web cracks fanned from the gunshot hole.

  I swallowed my fear, realizing that that hole had been exactly where my head had been only minutes before.

  Our truck sped up. I glanced at the speedometer. Seventy-five, then eighty, eighty-five. I had no idea this clunker could go so fast.

  “What’s going on out there?” Naomi asked.

  “We made it to the highway. They’re still on our tail.”

  “Can’t you shake them?”

  “What do you think I’m doing?”

  His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. The truck’s engine roared so loud I felt as though I might go deaf. My legs cramped as I held them to my chest. I watched the speedometer pass ninety.

  “Find something to hold onto. We’re about to make a quick exit,” Memphis yelled over the clamor.

  He swerved to the right. I grabbed the underside of the dash to keep from ramming his legs. I realized that if we crashed now, without my seat belt, and in this position on the floor, there was no way I would survive.

  I clenched my eyes shut. I pictured Katelyn. She looked so young, so frail, in my mind’s eye. Her bald head was a constant reminder of the life she’d lost to leukemia. She was a fighter, and she’d managed to hang on this long. If she could, then so could I.

  The truck slowed.

  I opened my eyes.

  I peeked out the back window. The tops of buildings had been replaced with green tree branches.

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  Memphis glanced down at me. “I lost them a couple miles back. But I’m sure they’re still looking for us. We’re going to hang out here for awhile.”

  A shadow crossed overhead. The dark forms of worn cobblestones forming an arch rose above us. The truck stopped.

  Memphis shifted into park and killed the engine. After hearing the engine’s roar for so long, my ears buzzed.

  “Are we safe?” Naomi asked.

  “Yes. You can come out. We’ll hide here for a few hours and then head to my apartment.”

  Naomi climbed into the seat. I did the same, feeling my muscles stiff and tight as I stretched my legs. I took a look around.

  We sat under an old bridge. Vines grew up the sides, obscuring some of the weathered stones. Trees grew in the distance, a bright shade of green against the backdrop of a wide, muddy river. The Mississippi? Memphis rolled down the windows. The scent of greenery filled the truck’s cabin.

  My heart still pattered with a nervous cadence. I exhaled, trying to calm my anxiety. My hands shook so I stuck them in my lap.

  “Who was chasing us?” I asked.

  “My best guess—one of the Revenants.”

  I swallowed the fear rising in my throat. “Are you sure we’re safe?”

  “Yes. For now.”

  “Where are we?” I asked.

  “Outside St. Bernard.”

  The way he said it made me pause. I’d never detected his accent before, but now I heard it—that Cajun twang. How had he managed to keep it hidden? I suppressed a smile. He eyed me.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Your accent.”

  “I don’t have an accent.”

  “Sure you don’t.”

  He crossed his arms.

  “I hear it too,” Naomi added and winked.

  He shook his head, but didn’t argue. I steadied my hands, willing my heart to slow down. The car chase had been more intense than I felt comfortable with. The splintered windshield crackled as new fissures opened in the glass around the two bullet holes. I realized how lucky we were to all be alive.

  “So what’s the plan?” Naomi asked. “How do we find the Revenants’ leader and take him out before they chainmail us?”

  “I have a few ideas,” Memphis said. He leaned across me and opened the glove box. His body felt warm against mine. I felt his heart beating, slower and much steadier than my own. How did he manage to keep his cool so easily? With his nearness, my stomach fluttered, repla
cing my anxiety with another emotion. He pulled several papers from the box, clicked the lid shut, and sat up straight.

  He showed us a brochure for a plantation home. Magnolia Acres Plantation was printed in scrolling, artful font across the top. “As far as I’m aware, the Revenant’s leader bought this plantation almost two decades ago. He’s lived there off and on ever since. He keeps to himself, and most of the staff never see him. The name he listed on the lease is James Henry Lavalle. Ironically, Lavalle is the name of the family who owned the plantation back in the nineteenth century.”

  Naomi raised an eyebrow. “The same name?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think he’s there now?” I asked.

  “Honestly, no. He’s impossible to track. We’ll only find him if he wants us to.”

  “Then why are we bothering?” Naomi asked.

  “Because I’m fairly certain he built his lab there. Any documents we can find would help us locate him, and help us discover what his plans are for June. Even if he we can’t find him at the plantation, any information we can get on my fath—on the Revenant’s leader—will be more than we know now.”

  I eyed him. He’d admitted that the Revenant’s leader had claimed to be his birth father, but I hadn’t broached the subject since then. It seemed like a touchy subject, and I wasn’t sure he wanted to bring it up.

  “We’ll head over there first thing in the morning,” he said and replaced the brochure.

  “Memphis,” Naomi said, her voice unusually subdued. “If this man actually is your birth father, how will you be able to help us defeat him?”

  He didn’t answer. The sun hung low over the river, casting long sunrays across the rippling water. The call of mockingbirds came from the trees. I watched as they hopped from branch to branch. A splash came from the river, scaring the birds. They flew away in a blur of gray and white. The quiet returned.

  “Killing him will be easy,” Memphis said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “He took Alexa away from me. He will suffer first. And then I will kill him.”