by Liz Long
“Yours in particular are special. They’re incredible investments, the most talented of your world. Sheffield did well in gathering the strongest of their kinds. I will study them, create new species of gifted that will trump any of today’s gifts.”
“We’re not zoo animals and you can’t poke and prod us into anything, Felix. We won’t agree to anything you have to say. You’ll have to kill all of us.”
“Speak for yourself, you stupid girl. There are gifted out there who support me, my motivations. They hate humans and they really hate human sympathizers like you. They know I’m brave, that I have enough sway to convince people of our beliefs.”
“You’re human! They know that, right?”
“I’m not human anymore!” he screamed at me. “I’m one of you and I can be anything I choose. That gives me the greatest advantage of anyone. I can’t be defeated. After everything I’ve given to your people, the years, the blood, I think I’ve earned it. I should have the right to declare myself gifted.”
“But you’re not and that’s why you hate us? You’re killing us and using our blood for a science project as an excuse to belong in our world? You’ve really lost your mind, haven’t you?”
“I’m not crazy.” His dark eyes narrowed, light glinting off his glasses as he shifted his feet. “I worked with your kind. I saved them and discovered ways to live comfortably in society. I bled for them, studied for years on end with nothing to show for it. My job fired me, told me to stay quiet. My wife left me. I will do whatever it takes to progress our races, use the advantages over protestors. I’ll make millions of dollars from the government to build my own unique lab and run tests. Sheffield’s blood will be my greatest to date.”
“Sheffield is a leader here. Think of everyone you’re hurting and how they depend on Sheffield. People love him.”
“Not everyone. There are many gifted who will respect me for taking Sheffield down. There are more gifted in circus shows than any other type of life, you understand that? Sheffield has collected up more than anyone and that makes him dangerous. Some think he’s had too much control for too long.”
“That can’t be true. He’s been around forever, knows so many people even outside the circus. He’s kind to everyone…”
His eye roll made me trail off and he spoke. “You’re so naïve, so new to your own community. Sheffield might not be an official representative of your kind, but he is well known. There are plenty who won’t mind Sheffield’s death, who don’t feel threatened by his gift.”
My arms crossed over my chest. “I’m not going to help you.”
“Then I’ll have to drag you,” Felix snarled. He lifted his gun and poised to pull the trigger. His aim lowered somewhere around my thighs.
“She’s not going anywhere, Felix,” a hard voice said. I looked over Felix’s shoulder to see Sheffield walk in. He came into the ring and settled a short few feet away.
“I won’t let you use your gift on me,” Felix warned him. “Don’t go anywhere, Lucy.” He lunged and his gun smacked me in the temple. It hurt like hell and I fell backwards to the ground. Felix motioned with his gun but twisted his body to give his full attention to Sheffield, whose jaw visibly clenched with an angry glare. I scrambled backwards in the dirt. Mac twitched as I tried to stand.
“I fail to see where being a Tracker would help me, but that’s fine,” Sheffield replied through gritted teeth. He pulled a tire iron from behind him. “I have this.”
Before Felix could blink, Sheffield charged him and swung hard towards Felix’s head. Felix ducked in time, but the tire iron caught his wrist and the gun went flying into the bleachers. Felix cursed and threw a surprisingly solid punch out that connected with Sheffield’s face.
I looked up to see Mac charge me.
Chapter 30
Mac ran at me like a bull. I got up for a split second before he had me down again. He tackled me and we rolled backwards before he landed himself on top of me. He leaned all his weight on me as I kicked and punched in vain. An Unbreakable now, he only laughed at my weak attempts.
“You don’t have to do this!” Dirt caught in my throat and eyes, temporarily blinding me.
“It’s all I’ve thought of since that night. After your friends came and beat the shit out of me, I absolutely took up Felix’s offer for payback.” His breath stank of onions and stale cigarette smoke and the pressure of his weight on my chest pushed every bit of air out of my lungs.
He ripped the buttons off my shirt and I put every bit of strength into my skin to burn him. He didn’t even flinch as he ran a hand from neck to stomach. I tried not to vomit at his rough, calloused skin.
“I can tell you’re trying to burn me, but it doesn’t hurt a bit. This should be fun.” He undid his belt and I screamed.
As I struggled, I only caught a glimpse of Sheffield—Felix had somehow gotten the crowbar and now had the upper hand. I couldn’t see Gabriel, but if he wasn’t already on top of Mac, he wasn’t conscious yet.
“I can’t wait to feel you.” I came back to my awful position as Mac tried to sugar me up for his gruesome deed. He put his hand on my breast and grinned.
Something inside me snapped; I put every volt I could muster into my palms and jutted them into his chest. To my surprise, the pressure of the fireball vaulted Mac off me, into the air; he tumbled into the dirt ground a few feet away, bits of his clothing on fire. I stood up as he pulled himself into a standing position.
My blood boiled as he ran at me again. I pulled a fireball from my hands, had but a brief second to register it had a blue base, but threw it anyways. It flew at Mac, hitting him squarely in the chest. He burst into flames, screaming as he collapsed into the ground and burned to death.
I gasped for air and tried in vain to tie my shirt back together in embarrassment. I looked over at Gabriel, who appeared to have revived moments earlier to catch my kill. Our eyes met and I nodded at him in relief.
Sheffield and Felix had stopped their fight to witness what just happened. Sheffield’s face registered worry but Felix looked strangely satisfied. They both went back to their own battle. Felix tried to throw a right hook, but Sheffield dropped and connected his foot with Felix’s knee. Felix went down with a howl and Sheffield kicked Felix in the stomach for good measure.
While Felix struggled to get up, Sheffield ran to my side. “I’m sorry to ask this of you. I need your gift. You don’t have the energy. I’ll finish him.”
Finally out of my daze, I nodded. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t think I had the guts to set Felix on fire but I didn’t want anyone else to get killed. He wasted no time.
Sheffield grasped my shoulder. Firm and confident, he tightened his grip until I no longer moved. An odd feeling came over me, like a great amount of energy leaving my body. I looked down at his hand, which trembled. I could almost see the air shiver. His entire body briefly shuddered before he released his hold. He stepped away and lifted up his hand to show me fire in his palm.
“Thank you. I’ll give it back soon. Now run.” He turned to face Felix.
I tried to produce a flame and couldn’t; I reminded myself of all my rage and felt angry, but couldn’t create fire. I scrambled to the bleachers where I thought the gun landed, but away from the lights and without a flame in my hand, it was too dark to see. For all I knew, it could be in the next set of bleachers. I didn’t know how to help.
“What’s it like to have gift that isn’t yours?” Felix shouted.
“You tell me. I hear you’ve gotten pretty good at it,” Sheffield replied. He took a few steps toward Felix. Flames licked his palms.
“I bet it’s good to be that powerful again. Have you been a Firestarter since Lenny died?”
“You aren’t going to hurt her or take over some imaginary gifted kingdom. You’re psychotic!”
I watched their exchange, huddled behind a chair. I experienced emotion like I normally did. Anger, fear, determination; they were all there, but my gift was gone. Par
t of me somehow felt empty, like I would never feel whole unless my gift, a piece of me, returned. Was this what happened when Gabriel took people’s emotions?
Gabriel, who had watched the last few minutes from the ground, finally jumped up and ran to me. He kept his body low and his head down. He crouched down next to me. His hands touched both of my cheeks as he searched my face, his blue eyes blazing into my own.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I mean, I guess he hit me but he didn’t shoot me or anything,” I stammered, my attention split between his question and the occurring fight.
“I meant that Mac guy.” He stripped to his white T-shirt and put his own button-up shirt around me.
“Thanks. I’m too busy trying to keep us alive to freak out right now. Get back to me later on that one.”
He put a hand on my head and brought me to his shoulder. “Okay. How do we help Sheffield?”
“We don’t. He’s got my fire and he’ll use it to kill Felix.”
We turned our heads to watch Sheffield and Felix. They were both bloody and covered in dirt. Felix tried to fake a punch to Sheffield, but Sheffield correctly anticipated it. Instead, Sheffield ducked and managed a very successful jab to Felix’s head. He staggered backwards, shook his head, but it was too late. This was it; Sheffield was about to finish Felix. I felt the knot clenched in my stomach and my hands involuntarily formed into fists.
Sheffield took a step back. I could see him take a deep breath and the flames erupted in his palms. He very quickly brought his hands together and formed a fireball; he was comfortable with the Firestarter gift. Before I could shake my head at that new worry, Sheffield chucked the fireball at Felix, who accepted it almost with open arms. His body burst into flames…and remained standing with no problems.
One thought crossed my mind: What the fuck?
Felix laughed, even took the time to straighten his glasses back onto his face. Even Sheffield looked stunned by this new quandary. Gabriel cursed. At the expression on Felix’s face, I lost my temper and jumped up from my spot in the dark tent. Gabriel tried to pull me back down and I shoved him away in anger, so he stood up next to me.
“You cheat!” I screamed at him. “You stupid bastard! Humans will attack us for our gifts or self-defense. You can’t do this!”
“Sure I can. You didn’t really think I would come near you without a shield? I suppose I was lucky you didn’t try sooner and spoil the surprise. Humans should have the right to gifts and even the playing field, like my dearly departed friend Mac said. We can be gifted just like you and I’ll get my life back proving it. You have no idea what your kind has done to me, to humans. Sheffield told you those stories, right?”
My rage increased so much I saw shades of red. If I could catch fire right then, I would’ve exploded into scorching flames.
“Enough, Felix.” I didn’t know if I’d ever heard Sheffield sound so serious.
“Dear Sheffield is as guilty as the rest of us,” Felix laughed. He hadn’t bothered to lose the flames, so his engulfed body gave him a very maniacal look. “I’ll tell you everything myself, once we’re back at my lab for your blood.”
“You’re already a Firestarter, you definitely don’t need me.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Skills you may lack, but you have immense power; I will have it one way or another.”
“You’re fucking crazy!”
“Easy, Lucy.” He waggled his index finger, still lit in flames. “Don’t forget you’re human right now. You can’t survive one of my flames. Come to think of it, Sheffield’s made this quite easy for me.”
I shut my mouth, knew he was quite correct about his threat. I glared at him, wishing daggers could leave my eyes. Gabriel steadied me with a stern grip to prevent me from charging in anger.
“You and I could do this all day, but what now?” Sheffield asked, trying to catch his breath.
“You always liked to show me how you took care of your opponents. Now we can see the victim overcome his bully. But how do you plan on beating me without a star player by your side? No Lenny to throw fireballs, no Marty to take sticks and stones. Even Knox took some hits for you. If you want to beat me, you have to take a very powerful gift from someone,” Felix crowed.
Sheffield glared at him, slightly panting. His fists were bloody, his blonde hair and mustache askew. His shirt was ripped and a red stain blossomed on the shoulder. Dirt covered his face; blood smeared across his forehead and his left eye was already turning purple. He shot a glance at the back of the tent where I still stood, terrified and angry. Without my gift, I had never felt so vulnerable. I hated it.
“Ah, yes. If I know you—and I do—you believe the lovely Lucy has the most powerful gift of them all,” Felix said in a nasally, singsong voice. “Another reason I’d like to keep her around. Terrific collateral.”
When he continued, his voice was much lower and threatening. “I will have her gift; I’ll be invincible and you know why. And before I take you down, I’m going to make you suffer. The work I did for you…the years, the effort, it will not be wasted. I’ve lost everything—everything! —and I will succeed now.”
Then a miracle happened and saved all of our asses. My friends burst through the artists’ entrance. They stared for a long moment, interpreted the situation and prepared for a fight. I took a look at Felix, who already stood a few feet back.
“Lucy, I’ll see you soon,” he promised. He swept his arm across his body and a wall of fire hit the ground, creating a barricade for everyone but Sheffield. Felix slipped into the shadows while everyone’s attention fell back to us. I gave Sheffield a long look. Are you not going after him? I cocked an eyebrow and tried to ask with my eyes. He just stood there, so I kept my mouth shut. He must not want people to panic.
I glanced around, at Gabriel, blood and dirt on him, hands still gripped on both of my arms; Sheffield looked a complete mess; I felt the bruise around my temple where Felix popped me and pulled Gabriel’s shirt around my exposed skin. I looked up and read the look on the group’s faces: it was far past time for panic. They wanted answers…and action.
Keegan’s green eyes met mine and I could read too much in them. He was confused and hurt as to why I was again with Gabriel. Questions surely burned at the forefront of his brain and I would have to answer all of them if I wanted us to continue. The fiery wall burned out and only shadows were left.
Chapter 31
“I think I stand for everyone when I ask…what the fuck?” Brooklyn said.
“Who was that?” Delilah asked.
“It’s fine, everyone, nothing to worry,” Sheffield tried.
“We’re not idiots. You all look like hell,” Nikolas said. “Who’s the Firestarter?”
Keegan stopped the whispers with one question. “What’s he want with Lucy?”
Everyone, Sheffield and Gabriel included, turned to me. I opened and closed my mouth a couple times, tried to figure out what the hell to say, but Brooklyn interrupted me.
“Holy shit! That crispy critter on the ground is the guy from the bar, the man who attacked us. Lucy, you killed him?”
“It was an accident.” At least that was a somewhat honest answer. I didn’t feel too bad about it, seeing as I’d barely escaped his wrath.
“He deserved it,” Gabriel butted in. “He almost raped her right here in the tent.”
“You couldn’t stop him?” Flames erupted in Keegan’s palms as he glowered at Gabriel.
“He was an Unbreakable. He knocked me out; when I came to, Lucy had electrocuted him off her and fried him to ashes.” Gabriel gave me an odd look. “Speaking of which, did you see your fireball? It looked blue, is that normal for you guys?”
“Lucy, come with me,” Sheffield demanded. “Gabriel, go clean up. Find something to occupy your time.”
Gabriel hesitated but I shot him a look and he nodded. He turned on his heel and disappeared through the tent while my friends gaped at us.
“Fo
lk, it’s okay. I’ll handle this, it’s nothing to worry about. Continue on about your business,” Sheffield said.
“Lucy—,” Keegan tried to start but Sheffield interrupted.
“She’s fine. Everything is fine. Go back to your campers, play cards or something. If you could please not talk about this to anyone to prevent panic, it would be much appreciated.” That last part sounded more of a command than a request.
“You don’t really expect us to—,” Nikolas began and Sheffield gave him a hard look. Nik fell silent and Sheffield’s flat tone gave nothing away.
“Actually, I do. Now go.”
Before anyone could say another word, Sheffield took my arm and practically dragged me back to his office. I struggled to keep up with his hurried strides. He limped a little while I tried not to stumble; neither of us spoke.
Once inside, I sat at the now familiar beat up chair as he took a seat behind his desk. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and offered some to me. I shook my head; alcohol would not help me form a plan.
“I think he has more than two gifts,” I said, diving in first. “I definitely think he’s arrogant enough to do three or four. This way he’s prepared in every scenario.”
“You’re right. I think we should assume he’s going to stay a Firestarter in case you use fire against him.”
“He told me he was a Tracker, but that seems more like a way to tell me he took Knox. I don’t think he cared about being a Tracker. He might drop it for something more aggressive.”
“I think, no matter which way we look at it, I’ve got to take the hit. I will take every gift he has in his body. Then you’ll throw a fireball.” He leaned back in his chair, sipping his whiskey and placing a gentle hand on his bruised face.
“A fireball?” I asked in alarm. “There are a lot of bad things to this plan. First of all, why am I throwing a fireball? He’s a defenseless human after you touch him. It’s not what I would call justifiable.”
“He’s killed us! Don’t you see? He’ll continue to do his work, keep up his research and experiments. He’s lost his mind and will never stop. No gifted being is safe unless he’s permanently off the grid.”