The Seers

  In full daylight, it was clear her blue eyes had been robbed of the warm love he craved. He forced a quiet smile through the pain. “Lectures are pointless once you’ve made up your mind.”

  She stared at him. For a moment—only a split-second—her eyes flashed with warmth. It took his breath away, but it disappeared quickly. She frowned as her gaze dropped to the ground.

  “There are other options, you know,” he said carefully. It would kill him if she left on her own again. He had to convince her to stay with him, even if it meant leaving Charlotte and Henry.

  “Like what?” She studied her hands in her lap.

  “You want to leave; I’ll go with you.” He hid a cringe, waiting for her answer. After how he blew up at her when he first saw her, he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to see him again.

  “Did Charlotte tell you about our argument? I’m not going anywhere with them.”

  Them. Not him. There was hope.

  “I’m not saying you have to. We can leave. They can go back to Nios.”

  She bit her lip while he silently pleaded with her to accept his offer.

  “We can do this without them?” she asked.

  He drew in a deep breath. They couldn’t run forever. He couldn’t deny having a contact on the Niotian council would help, and Henry was a cyber engineer, gifted at hacking.

  “It’s possible,” he said. “I like our chances a lot better with them, but the choice is yours.”

  I’ll follow you anywhere.

  “You’d drop everything and come with me?”

  He shrugged. That’s what he’d done his whole life. Why change now? “I’m here, aren’t I?”

  She smiled at him. A real smile. He had to stop himself from kissing her.

  “Excuse me, I need to talk to Tobin—alone,” a shrill, ditzy voice demanded from behind him. Amber.

  Nora rose with wide, flustered eyes. “Um, sure. I’ll just—” She glanced around.

  Tobin leaped from his seat. A single car was driving away—presumably Amber’s ride. No other people were outside. Each of the motel windows seemed dark and empty. It would appear that the Tavians hadn’t followed her, but he wouldn’t take any chances.

  “Let’s all go to the room.”

  Nora glared at him, and he winced. He’d just asked her to go back into a motel room with a girl she thought he was dating. And if that wasn’t enough, Charlotte waited inside. He shook his head at himself. He was out of practice.

  “Please,” he mouthed as earnestly as he could.

  He wanted to hold her, tell her that there was nothing between Amber and him, that he flirted with her to get her car and—after a couple drinks—to see if he could make Nora jealous.

  She narrowed her eyes for a moment but followed Amber to the room and plopped down at the end of the far bed, pointedly avoiding Charlotte. Henry sat on the closer bed, oblivious to it all with another candy bar in his hand.

  Amber turned around with a scowl. “I said alone.”

  It didn’t matter what she wanted. “This is all the privacy you’ll get. Why didn’t you come yesterday to get your car? What took you so long?” He peered through the crack in the curtains.

  She sunk into her hips and folded her arms. “I would’ve come yesterday, but your friends are in some kind of trouble.”

  There it is.

  The Tavians were after Nora, and he had killed two of their men. They’d be coming with everything they had.

  “Trouble?” It wasn’t as if he could ask her if she had seen any Tavians. “Who told you that?”

  “The cops! They were at the bar yesterday, asking all kinds of questions about a girl that matched her description.” She pointed at Nora. “I can’t be involved in anything illegal, Tobin. I got kids.”

  “These cops,” Tobin said, keeping his voice even. “What did they look like?”

  Amber huffed. “I don’t know. They weren’t in uniforms, but they weren’t messin’ around. They asked if we had any cameras.”

  Tobin raised his eyebrows. “Do you have cameras?”

  “No! Willie’s too cheap to pay for anything like that.” She paused for a moment. “Now that I think about it, they all had real dark eyes… like black. I’ve never seen that before.”

  He’d known it all along, but he balled his fists at the confirmation. They’d tracked them to their last location thirty-six hours ago and could be here in a matter of minutes. If they’d tracked Amber, they could be outside right now.

  “Their hair? Did they have white hair?” he asked, already formulating a plan. Teleportation was out. They’d definitely be watching for any traces in the area. He would have to get a car and travel fast—a larger town without a lot of street cameras would be best.

  “Two of them did, but the guy in charge had dark hair.”

  No.

  “Dark hair?” he asked. There had to be a mistake.

  “Yeah, and black eyes.”

  Tobin’s eyes widened. He wanted to grab Nora and run. He was very familiar with one dark-haired Tavian. Jasper Bishop. He would be exactly the type of guard they would send after two of their own were killed, and he was the last man on earth he wanted chasing after Nora.

  “What did you tell them?” he asked, impatient for Amber to leave.

  “Nothing! I gave you my car! I can’t be an accessory! But I’m here now to warn you. Tobin, how well do you know these people? I don’t think you want to get caught up in this.”

  He opened the door. “I know them pretty well. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

  Could he rent a car? Would he have to steal one? Nora wouldn’t like that.

  Amber didn’t move. “How long have you known them?” She nodded at Nora. “I got the feeling at least that one has a past.”

  She does have a past… with me.

  “I’ve known her my whole life.”

  Nora’s eyebrows curved up in the middle, and his chest threatened to burst open. He would tell her the whole story at some point.

  Amber rolled her eyes. “All right. I guess I’ll see you around.” She stepped over the threshold. “Don’t bring them with you again.”

  Tobin nodded before shutting the door, then spun to Nora. Her arms were still folded and tensed as she watched him with an uncertain expression. He ran a hand through his hair. Escaping had just gotten infinitely more dangerous. “We’ve got to get out of here fast.”

  “There’s got to be some mistake.” Henry shook his head. “There aren’t any dark-haired Tavians in their Guard. It would make them a Variant, and they wouldn’t give a Variant that much power.”

  “There is one dark-haired Tavian, and trust me, you don’t want to meet him.” Tobin rounded the bed and approached Nora. “We don’t have a lot of time. The Tavians likely tracked Amber here. Should we stay with Charlotte and Henry or leave on our own?”

  Charlotte scoffed. “Leave on your own? That’s nonsensical—”

  “I wasn’t talking to you, Charlotte, and I don’t care what Nios needs right now.” He never looked away from Nora. Her beautiful blue eyes wavered, and he nearly lost his train of thought. “I’m talking to you. I’m with you. What they did…”

  His nostrils flared. This time would be different. He promised himself. “I can understand if you never want to see them again. I certainly didn’t.”

  Henry stepped forward. “Our family has always supported her, Tobin. You know that. Charlotte is with us now. Let us make it right.”

  Tobin raised his eyebrows at Henry’s newfound confidence. “We need to get to a bigger population center, but Denver’s out, too many surveillance cameras—”

  “Cameras?” Henry asked. “What if we’re looking at this the wrong way? Let’s say we make arrangements at a nicer hotel in Denver. There are plenty of human and electronic signatures there, and after we get Nora into the room—”

  “Yes, but those hotels have cameras. With the Tavians’ automated surveillance capabilities, they can monitor any camera on a n
etwork.”

  This is why cyber engineers don’t plan missions.

  “Right, but the cameras are primarily centered in lobbies, restaurants, elevators, and entrances; most are mounted high up. If Nora walked in with a crowd of people, wearing a hat…”

  Tobin tilted his head. It was an intriguing idea. The Tavians would be expecting him to stay away from cameras. He’d always loved using their presumptions against them.

  “The best part is we could use the cameras,” Henry explained. “We could monitor every entrance, the parking lot, the elevators. If they found us, we would know and we’d be able to identify the best escape route.”

  Okay, the cyber engineer has a point.

  It was unconventional, but it might work. Tobin ran through the various scenarios in his mind. “There are still many wild cards with that plan. We’d need a clean line of credit for a reservation, we’d have to get past any other cameras outside—”

  Charlotte raised her hand to interrupt, her eyes twinkling. “I can help with the reservations.”

  Nora’s eyes hardened at the sound of Charlotte’s voice.

  “I’ve arranged for things like that in the past. The mountains are a popular destination for summits. I’m on a first-name basis with a number of concierges in the area. If Henry can access the system, I could easily make arrangements.”

  Tobin grimaced. “What about an exit plan? If we’re in Denver and need to run, they’ll be able to track us with traffic cams, surveillance footage—”

  “Okay, what about Aspen? Maybe a ski resort?”

  A ski resort? Escape routes into the mountains, back into town, various pockets of human signatures. Tobin would match his experience in mountain terrain against any Tavian.

  He turned to Charlotte. “And you’re sure you can secure a clean line of credit? There’s no room for error.”

  Her willowy frame sprang upright as she nodded. “Absolutely. Especially if it means we won’t have to stay in another establishment like this.”

  Tobin knelt in front of Nora. “It’s your call.”

  She twisted her hands in her lap. “Our chances are better with them?”

  They had been fighting blind. With Jasper Bishop involved, a plan with surveillance and multiple escape routes increased their chances of escape exponentially. He nodded.

  “If you can get me to a computer, I can handle the rest,” Henry added.

  Tobin kept his eyes on Nora. “There’s a public library not too far from here. It has a couple of computers, but this is Nora’s decision.”

  Nora eyed Charlotte and Henry. “Are you guys up for another escape?”

  Chapter 13

  Annabel dropped into the chair at the table in her bedroom. The dome outside her window that operated as the sky in Octavius was slowly fading from its daytime alabaster to a prismatic silver. Night was falling, and her hope dwindled. Jasper was in the middle of an investigation. It could be days before she saw him again.

  She grabbed her sketching pad. Each stroke of the pencil was purposeful, therapeutic, thought consuming.

  If he cared about her, he would have at least checked on her, right? Perhaps she had been wrong; perhaps she had seen what she’d wanted to see in the garden.

  She swallowed hard, staring at the lines as they came together in the outline of a rose—a form she knew from memory. Pleased with the placement and proportion of the petals, she began the deeper coloring for dimension.

  The crackling sound of teleportation came from behind her—and only one person had the ability to teleport directly into her room. “Jasper, it’s so nice to see you—”

  His dark gaze hardened as he swept around the room. “Cyrus. Has he been here?”

  The white pulse gun secured in his leg holster drew her attention. Had he been on a mission? Had something happened? He didn’t seem injured.

  “I-I haven’t seen Cyrus.” Why would he come to her room? It wasn’t like they were on the best of terms. “Has something happened?”

  “Hmm?” His gaze darted to her for the first time, but he still looked distant. “No. Why? Has something happened here?”

  “What? No. I mean, not that I know of. I’ve been in my room all day.” And she didn’t want to talk about Cyrus.

  Jasper nodded, but a frown still darkened his features. Blinking hard and swiping his eyes one way, then another, he checked something on his implant.

  She smoothed the white lock of hair hanging over her shoulder and took a step closer to him, then another. He didn’t notice. Instead he stared ahead, still absorbed in whatever he was doing on his implant.

  Her heart raced. She wasn’t good at this. What would she do when she got close? If he had feelings for her, was it too much to hope he’d make the first move?

  Staring blankly at the wall in front of him, he sighed.

  She inched closer, attempting to seem at ease and graceful even though her mind tripped over every thought. How should she hold her hands? She should smile, but not too much. She didn’t want to look crazy. How did her hair look? She hadn’t checked in the mirror recently.

  As she neared, he continued with his work as if she weren’t standing there at all. “It appeared Cyrus might be headed up here. You haven’t seen him?”

  She locked her hands behind her back and shook her head. “He doesn’t usually come here. Are you sure he wasn’t headed to his own suite?”

  Jasper nodded. “Yes. This was different.”

  She was now within a couple feet of him, and still nothing. No reaction at all. She slunk back a step, and her cheeks warmed.

  His lean frame relaxed. “Sorry to bother you.”

  “Not at all—”

  “I should get back.”

  She reached out and grabbed his arm. “No, wait.”

  Not flirtatious. Not even graceful.

  She let her eyelids fall over her eyes. The warmth in her cheeks turned to a full blaze. She really was awful at this. She needed to come up with a good excuse for why she’d grabbed him. Nothing came. She opened her eyes, cringing at the thought of what she’d see.

  His gaze had been fixed on her hand, but it slowly traveled to her face.

  “I had a question about something…”

  What was she doing? She didn’t flirt, let alone come on to someone—especially Jasper.

  He studied her for a moment but revealed nothing. Could he still be oblivious to her motives? She urged herself closer, but it was no use. It would be best to back away and save whatever shred of dignity she had left—if any.

  “Never mind. I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re busy.” Her fingers released their hold. A hand gripped hers, securing it to his arm—Jasper’s hand. Gentle, yet decisive.

  Her gaze drifted up his body to his face. His frown was gone, replaced with a deep and intense expression. She had his attention now.

  Her heart flopped.

  He knows.

  He turned to face her fully.

  Breathe.

  Slowly, as if to give her every chance to back away, his hand slid around her waist, but she wasn’t going anywhere. Every nerve tingled. She raised her chin as he neared, shutting her eyes.

  He yanked his hand away.

  She opened her eyes as he backed across the room.

  “Incoming,” he warned, nodding to the door.

  The hallway doors to her suite blew open, and she leaped toward the table.

  “There’s the recluse!” Cyrus mocked her as he strolled into the bedroom.

  She blinked, dizzy with emotion. Blood speckled his arms and neck. Large, wet outlines darkened his black shirt. He’d been busy. “What do you want, Cyrus?”

  “I wanted to see Doctor Fry’s work firsthand.” He approached her. She backed into the table, turning away as he neared. He thrust his hand out and grabbed her chin with an iron grip before pulling her head back to face him.

  The rusty odor of blood turned her stomach. What had he done? More importantly, why was he here now?

  �
�They were right. Not a hint of black anymore. Impressive.” He released her jaw, and she gripped the table behind her, trying to gather her composure. He always knew just what to do to make her feel like nothing. She blinked, painfully aware of the color of her eyes, but now that he had seen what he’d wanted to see, maybe he would go.

  “And how are you feeling? Foresightful?” A smug grin tugged at the corners of his lips.

  Oh, how she wished he were already dead. She glanced at Jasper, whose grave expression seemed to beg her to stay calm.

  “Nothing to report,” she said through a tight smile.

  Cyrus’s eyes hardened. “Annabel, let me make something clear to you. You’re a Variant now, and I’m sure you remember what I did the last time we had a Variant in the family. Your only hope is to become a Seer, and you better do so fast. I can’t risk you existing otherwise.”

  “There’s no treatment plan for this,” she said in a perfectly even voice. “It could be a while.”

  His lips curled, and she tightened her grip on the table to hide her trembling. This might be it. Her life might be over. She glanced at Jasper, whose expression had darkened. He sidled to the door.

  No. He wouldn’t leave now, would he?

  Cyrus lunged forward and grabbed her like a rag doll. “Pay attention! You don’t have a lot of time!”

  His grip bruised her arms. Her feet dangled as he held her inches from his face.

  Jasper took a step into the hall and checked both directions before he returned and shut the door behind him. Shutting the door would only embolden Cyrus, couldn’t Jasper see that?

  And then it hit her. He could see that. He was covering for Cyrus, just as he always had. She was going to die tonight with Jasper as a witness.

  Cyrus squeezed her arms tighter, and she cringed in pain. “The Sacarros are gathering support from the other families. If you don’t develop into a Seer, I will be forced to make some changes to the plan. Imagine the outrage—the resounding calls for justice—if the Niotians were to kill you.”

  “Y-you’d hand me over to them?” She fought to relax her wide eyes. He fed on fear. She had to stay calm. “That’s ridiculous. They’re too idealistic. They wouldn’t kill me.”