by C. C. Bolick
“What does Sylvia want me to do?”
“Try to fly. She called to give me permission to teleport you somewhere we can practice.”
“We?”
Travis held out a hand. “While you test your other power, I plan to keep you safe. Are you ready?”
“You want to go now?”
“I heard the final meeting is tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be good to test her theory? Maybe it could help her chances with the job.”
Travis did have a point. I reached for his hand. In the next moment, we stood at the edge of a cliff on the side of a mountain. The air chilled my arms.
“Sorry,” he said. “I should have told you to bring a jacket.”
I rubbed my arms and stepped closer to the edge. Wind tossed my hair around as I peered at the miniature trees below. “How high are we?”
“Hundreds of feet. Maybe a thousand.”
“I think I’d rather see water below instead of trees.” The height didn’t scare me, but the thought of trying to fly and failing did. I held out my palms which sparkled with blue.
“Not yet,” he said. “You’ll wear yourself out. Hannah seemed to think that flying first would make your other power stronger. She said Rosanna once needed to diffuse a bomb larger than anything she’d seen. Before trying to diffuse the bomb, she flew and stretched the limit of her powers. She stopped the bomb and saved millions of lives.”
“Was that the bomb in New York? I read about her diffusing a bomb there.”
Travis nodded. “So far, Louis hasn’t threatened anything that large, but he’s getting more than desperate to steal you away from us. It’s only a matter of time before—”
“Yes,” said a voice behind us. “A small matter of time.”
We spun to see Van watching. Unlike us, he’d dressed in a thick jacket with a wool lining and a hood that covered his hair.
“At least one of us came prepared,” he said. “You’ll freeze to death before you get off the ground.”
“Why are you so worried?” Travis rubbed his arms. At least he wore long sleeves. “How did you know we were here?”
Van opened his mouth but hesitated. Instead of answering, he closed his mouth and smiled.
“Did you come here to gloat?” Travis asked. “Or tell me all the reasons things won’t work out between us? I’ve been getting that a lot lately.”
“I have nothing against a great love story,” Van said. “Or tragedy, depending on which side of history you’re on.”
A blast of wind made me shiver. Van waved his hand and a black jacket appeared, which he held out for me. I slid on the jacket and zipped the front. The arms were too long, but the fur lining felt softer than any jacket I’d ever worn.
Travis nodded to him. “Thanks.”
“I didn’t come here for your appreciation,” Van said. “Or to keep her from freezing.”
“Why did you come here?” I asked, hugging the jacket close.
Van stepped closer to the cliff’s edge and stood by my side. “You picked a beautiful view, but I think the wind will be too much for her.”
Travis moved between us. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I came to make sure she completes this task,” Van said. “It’s the key to controlling her power.”
“How do you know?” Travis asked. “You coming here isn’t a good sign. Is the world going to end if she doesn’t figure out how to control her power?”
“Not the entire planet, but we need her alive. It’s in everyone’s best interest that she takes flight.”
“How do you know what’s going to happen?” I glanced at Travis and then back at Van. “Can you see the future?”
“No,” Van said. “That’s the polite question, but not the one you want to ask. You’re wondering why your boyfriend hasn’t mentioned the possibility.”
“He can’t touch anyone.” I tried to step around Travis. “That’s why his power to see the future isn’t working.”
Travis held an arm in my path. “You want something from me,” he said to Van.
“I thought that much was clear.”
Travis pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Van. “I want something from you.”
Van opened the paper. His lips curved into a smile and he looked up. “What you’re asking is not standard fare for me.”
“Can you do what I ask?”
“You doubt my abilities? I’m commander of a prison.” Van straightened and waved a hand, communicating at least five emotions in that one movement. The paper disappeared. “Yes.”
Travis moved close enough to strangle Van. “Do I have your word?”
“You would trust my word? After I threatened to kill your father?”
“In this case,” Travis said, eying me, “I think we’re on the same side.”
“Then you have it.” Van waved a hand at me. “Go ahead. Let’s see you take to the skies.”
“Jump,” Travis said. “We’ve already established you’re not scared of heights. If you can’t fly, I’ll teleport below and catch you.”
I stepped to the edge and looked at the quiet valley below us. Snowflakes began to fall and I licked the crystals from my lips. It never snowed in Florida.
“You’ve got to let her do this on her own,” Van said. When Travis shook his head, Van groaned and looked away. “If you do it for her, we’ve already lost.”
When I looked to my side again, Van was gone. “What did he mean about letting me do this on my own?”
“Don’t worry about Van right now. Focus on using your power. Ready?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. Before I could second guess myself, I jumped into the air. Instantly, the weight of my body rushed to the ground. I flailed my arms in a desperate attempt to catch the wind. I thought of my fear that I’d fail. My hands began to glow but still I fell. The force of the air kept me from screaming.
Orange and brown leaves of trees below stretched into a blanket as I fell blindly. I could only hope Travis made good on his promise to save me. I closed my eyes as the ground came into focus. Somewhere below… was he somewhere waiting?
I braced my mind for impact. Could this be my last breath?
The impact came, but it wasn’t me splattering on the ground like a broken egg. Somehow Travis caught me. Somehow, he saved me.
When I opened my eyes, we stood at the door to my room. “How did you…” My teeth chattered as I pulled the jacket closer.
“You can take that off now,” he said with resignation.
“I couldn’t fly… I’m sorry.” I reached for his hand, but he pulled back. “I’m not sure why that didn’t work.”
“Your heart wasn’t in it.”
My heart hurt at the pain in his voice. He took my failure personal. “We should go back. I can try again.”
Before Travis could answer, his phone rang. “Payne,” he said into the phone. “Yes, we’re back at the base.” He shuddered. “Got it. Don’t take the elevator. We’ll be there in seconds.”
“What’s going on?”
“Louis is back and he’s looking for you.” He took my hand. “Sylvia wants us in the conference room next to her office. No delay.”
I nodded and we teleported to a room with eight chairs around the table. Sylvia sat at one end and Senator McCall sat to her left. Dad sat to her right and Agent Lockhart sat next to him.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Louis sent another message,” Sylvia said. “He’s placed a bomb at the White House. We have fifteen minutes to deliver you to his house in Spain.”
“Which is out of the question,” Dad said.
“No one has found the bomb,” Senator McCall said. “We think this one could be a ploy. I suggest we call his bluff.”
“Louis is crazy enough to kill people,” Agent Lockhart said. “Deliver her or not, but he won’t hesitate to blow up a building if it will get him on the news.”
“If she goes, we lose our bargaining chip,” Sylvia
said.
Travis walked around the table to her side. “Do you have a photo of Castillo’s house?”
Sylvia closed the folder in front of her and put a hand over it. “I know what you’re thinking and the answer is no.”
“I can get her there fast,” Travis said.
Senator McCall stood. “What are you thinking, Agent Payne?”
“I’ve never been to Castillo’s house. If I see a picture, I can teleport there.”
“No,” Sylvia said again.
Travis eyed the folder under her hand. He waved his hand and the folder appeared in his grip. He moved down the table and opened the folder, spreading the pages across the table in a mad rush. As Sylvia rose and came after the folder, he pulled a glossy photo of a house from the pages and held it up. “Is this his house?”
“Yes,” Senator McCall said.
Sylvia shot him a look of surprise. “You’re not helping.”
“If it takes sending her to save lives, then get to it,” the senator said.
“It’s not safe,” Dad said. “We’d be delivering her to Louis. He could take Rena and go dark.”
Travis looked at the senator. “I hate to say you and I agree, but this could be the only way to save lives.”
Sylvia got in Travis’s face. “Taking her is against my orders. I’m still director here and anyone who has a problem with my leadership,” she glared at the senator, “will go through proper channels to dispute my decision.”
“It’s the only way,” Travis said. “We don’t have time for any channels.”
“Your father had the same ideas.” Her voice rose. “He put his life in danger to save others more times than his file states. In this case, I can’t allow you to leave with her. Handing her over to Louis is not the answer.”
“I can protect her,” Travis said. “I’ll keep her close to me and make sure Louis doesn’t harm her.”
“We’re not worried about him harming her,” she said. “We’re worried about her power harming the world.”
“I won’t lose control,” I said. “And I’ll never help Louis hurt anyone.”
Travis grabbed my arm. Dad jumped up from his chair, but the world around us shifted before he could grab me. We appeared at the center of a paved driveway, staring up at a two-story house with dozens of stained glass windows.
“Are we in Spain?” I asked.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me up polished stairs that led to a wide porch. At the door to the house, Travis pulled out his gun. “We’re at the Castillo family home.” Before he could reach for the doorbell, the door opened and Louis crossed the threshold.
“I’ve been waiting,” Louis said to me. His gray suit made him seem more like a businessman than our previous meetings. “You won’t need that gun, Agent Payne.”
“I think I’ll keep it anyway,” Travis said.
Louis nodded. “Follow me.”
Next to me, Travis seemed as surprised at Louis’s carefree attitude as I was. I followed behind Louis, and Travis kept the gun in the air while we walked. Louis led us through a room as large as some of the restaurants at the base. All four walls were covered with artwork and I thought of our first meeting in the room filled with his pictures of Mama. This collection included several black and white photos and charcoal drawings of her. One painting of her stood almost as tall as me.
“Did you make all of these?” I asked, unable to hide my affection for her face. His portraits were beautiful.
He glanced at the pictures. “Make… yes. Your mother has always been my muse.”
“He’s distracted,” Travis whispered as Louis waved us forward. “Stay close to me.”
Louis led us through another doorway. As I stepped inside, one of the twins from the arena appeared and grabbed Travis’s arm. They immediately teleported, leaving me alone with Louis. He turned to me with a smile. “Thought he would never leave.”
I shivered and closed my palms. It wasn’t time for fear. “Where is the bomb?”
He continued down a hall, and I had no choice but to follow after him. “Your White House just exploded. Perhaps you should watch the news more often.”
“N-no,” I stammered.
Louis’s smile widened. “I wanted you here and a bomb threatening your president is what it took to get you here.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “There’s no bomb?”
“No, but next time—”
“I’m not joining your terrorist group.”
“You’ll change your mind with the appropriate—”
“Force?” I asked. “I’m not afraid of you.”
“Persuasion.”
He opened a door and took me outside the house, into a garden beyond a row of square hedges. I followed down a stone path into the heart of the garden. Bethany sat on her knees taking clippings from a rosebush. Louis almost ran to her, but I took my time crossing the grass.
“I found her, Regina,” he proclaimed.
“Found who?” I asked.
“Rosanna.”
Without thinking, I grabbed his arm. “Have you lost your mind? My mother is dead. That’s not her.”
He looked down at my hand with warmth. “Bethany woke from her coma on the day you diffused my bombs. How do you explain the timing?”
“There has to be a reason.”
“Divine influence. Rosanna was sent back to me. Back to us.” He pointed to Bethany, who’d yet to raise her head. “You can bring her back.”
“What do you mean, bring her back?”
“This woman is Rosanna.”
I lowered my voice. “Her name is Bethany Kruger. The agency has a file on her. She’s thirty one. She was hit by the same drunk driver who killed my mother and stayed in a coma for ten years.”
Sadness entered his voice. “Such an awful soul. He deserved his fate. Now that I have Rosanna back, we can—”
“I told you. Her name is Bethany Kruger.”
“For now. I think when she looks at you, she’ll remember.”
Bethany clipped more branches from the rosebush. Mama once told me that clippings could be taken from a rosebush at certain times of the year and planted. But when? Bethany’s hands moved in slow, robotic motions. Although she talked in the warehouse, her body moved like a robot at the arena. Like this empty person.
I kneeled in front of her. “Do you remember being in the coma?”
“Coma?” she asked quietly, not taking her eyes from the bush.
“My mama always grew roses like this,” I said. “She called her favorite color blood-red.”
“Good,” Louis said. “Bring back her memory.” His phone rang. He lifted the phone and spoke in a language I didn’t understand. “Excuse me.”
I watched as he walked off while waving one hand in the air. The animated way he talked exhausted me. “Is he holding you hostage?”
She chuckled. “He believes so.”
I swung around, heart racing. “Bethany?”
“The doctors said Bethany waking from the coma was a miracle. After ten years, no one asked questions when she no longer acted like herself.”
“Are you saying…”
She lowered the clippers. “You’re smarter than that, Regina.”
Down the path and approaching the house, Louis faced away from us as he yelled into his phone.
“His plans aren’t going as well as he hoped.”
I stared at the woman who watched me. The blue-jean overalls and straw hat was an outfit my mother would have worn. “Mama?”
She grabbed my hand. “Quick, Regina. The agent you were with at the warehouse—”
“Yes?” I couldn’t think. Was this really my mother?
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“What does that matter?”
“Never forget he’s still an agent. You don’t change someone like that.”
I put a hand over my mouth. “You come back to life and the first thing you do is give me relationship advice?” If so, she had some nerve having
an affair with an agent when she was still married to Louis.
“I wasn’t sure how much time we’d have.”
“Why are you here with Louis? The man wants to blow up buildings and kill people.”
“I’m helping him,” she said.
I leaned closer. “Why help him?”
“If I help him, he doesn’t need you.”
“I don’t get any of this. Why are you… how can we… if you’re alive—”
“I’m not alive. Bethany is alive.”
“But you’re talking to me.”
She waved a hand to where Louis ended his call and motioned angrily to someone walking by. “If you had time to ask me only one question, what would it be?”
“How do I control my power? Hannah suggested I fly.”
“Hannah is right, you need to fly. Don’t think of using that power alone. Use the power of the neutrons in the air to carry you. It will be the biggest rush you’ve ever known.”
Travis appeared between us and Louis, still holding his gun. Did he shoot the man who teleported him?
“Your agent friend.” Her eyes gleamed. “He carries a heavy burden.”
I wondered if she meant his powers. “He’s protecting me.”
“You’ve got to get your power under control before people get hurt.”
“I don’t understand. How can you…” I shook my head. “There’s no way you’re her.”
Travis noticed me and teleported to my side. He grabbed my arm.
“Wait,” I yelled. “I need more time.”
“Your time is up.” Before I could look at Bethany again, he teleported us back to the base.
Chapter Eleven
We reappeared in the conference room. Dad was on his phone and Agent Lockhart scrolled through the screen of a laptop with surveillance video from Louis’s estate. Sylvia and Senator McCall stood facing each other. Their voices were loud enough to shake the glass windows. Everyone stopped and looked at us when Travis spoke.
“You were right,” he told Sylvia. “It was a trap.”
She spun around. “Of course I was right. You escaped?”
“After we arrived, one of the Thompson Twins teleported me to a cruise ship,” he said. “We appeared in front of hundreds of people. I got away and brought Rena back here. You might want to get a containment crew down to Jamaica.”