by C. C. Bolick
The door swung open. “Change your mind?”
It took everything I had to stand rigid as a statue as Paleris stared me down.
“Are you joining my team?” he asked.
Across the room behind me, Tyler shoved open the kitchen door. “Not if I can help it.”
Paleris looked past me with surprise. He pushed me aside and walked into the living room, looking around as if expecting someone else. His eyes stopped on Tyler. “How did you get here?”
“Dude,” he said. “You left the door unlocked.”
“You think you have the power to stop me?” Paleris asked. “Were you foolish enough to come here alone?”
Tyler pulled his knife from the sheath. “I never travel alone.”
Paleris chuckled. “You must think highly of your odds. This isn’t a game like the fights I controlled in the mine.”
At Tyler’s full height, he loomed over Paleris. “You saw me fight. I think my odds are better than most.”
Again, Paleris looked around the room. Searching for something or someone. Only the three of us stood near the room’s center. “You want to fight me?” Shadows flickered in Paleris’s eyes. “It won’t change anything that happened to you down in that mine.”
Tyler lifted the knife. He closed his eyes as if going into power mode.
“I’ve wanted to fight you ever since first seeing your power.” A knife appeared in Paleris’s hand. “Anyone who can take out twelve fighters with a knife has my respect.”
Tyler was right about Paleris’s weakness—an extreme respect and obsession for fighting. It was the only thing he cared about beyond ridding Golvern of humans. I didn’t move as Paleris turned his back to me and approached Tyler in a fighting stance.
From behind the couch, Pade stood without making a sound. He aimed his gun at Paleris and fired. The bullet sliced through the air, striking Paleris with the sickening sound of flesh and bone splitting. Paleris slumped over to his side and crashed onto the floor.
Tyler put his knife away. Leaning down, he held two fingers against Paleris’s neck. “He’s still alive. You didn’t take a kill shot.”
“No.” Pade wiped away water that dripped from his hair down his face. “We’ll find a way to save him.”
Tyler met my gaze. His performance in making Paleris think he went into power mode was brilliant. He reached for Paleris’s arms and I grabbed his legs. We carried him outside and down the wooden stairs to where Pade could teleport him off the island.
Pade disappeared with the prisoner and Tyler turned to me. “We still make a great team,” he said.
My heart pumped with the adrenaline rush. “Yeah, we do.”
“I wish…”
“Yeah man,” I said. “Me too.”
Pade reappeared and teleported Tyler off the island. I peered at the dark clouds above. The rain had subsided and now fell in a light mist. Above me on the stairs, Louis stepped out of the kitchen and called down to me.
“Where is he?”
Before I could answer, Pade reappeared and shot Louis. I watched with satisfaction as Louis’s body rolled down the stairs and landed on the ground near our feet.
“Can you do that again?”
Pade rolled his eyes and teleported Louis out of there. With everyone gone and Dad unaccounted for, I was alone on the island. Several minutes passed while my fear grew. What if I was stuck here until my powers returned? How would I get back to Rena?
For the hundredth time that day, I thought of myself in Atlanta. Still no powers.
Pade reappeared and pointed his gun at me.
I held up my hands. “What are you doing?”
“You stole a prisoner from Golvern. You brought a killer to Earth and put everyone here in danger.”
“My father planned the jailbreak. I had nothing to do with it.”
“I don’t trust your father,” he said.
“I don’t either.”
“What is he hiding?”
“He wanted to stop a disaster.”
“Which he caused by bringing Paleris here. What is Paleris holding over his head?”
I couldn’t think of a good lie. With his gun in my face, I couldn’t even think of a bad lie. “How did you find us?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I have my ways.”
“You were determined to find the queen’s brother. I hope she deserves this level of dedication.”
“I didn’t come here just to find her brother.”
I looked at him with confusion. “Why else would you—”
“The story you told me about the girl.”
“Rena?”
“I believed you.” He lowered the gun. “I want to help you get back to her.”
“Why would you want to help me?”
“Because I was forced to go to Golvern. Like you, I had to leave the girl I loved and I’ll never forget how that felt.”
“Like shit,” I said.
He grinned. “I’m not allowed to say words like that anymore.”
“Working in the palace too formal for you?”
“Can you trust me enough to get you back to the base?”
I nodded. “Do you know how to get there?”
“I can get us to the airport. You’ll have to do the rest.”
“Deal.”
“Now, tell me what your dad has planned.”
“Paleris has a room in a cave with cylinders. Dozens of cryogenic cylinders with people frozen inside. Have you ever seen one of those sci-fi movies where they freeze people to travel hundreds of years in space?”
“Yeah.”
“Those people are dead. For a price, Paleris was holding them until technology catches up and they can be saved. One of those people is my mom.”
Pade swore, several more words his employer probably hated. He held out a hand to shake. “If you’ll trust me, I’ll take you back to Atlanta.”
I reached for his hand and the scene around us changed to a brightly lit room. In front of us was a huge glass window and through the window a 737 sat waiting for its passengers. People in seats around us jumped to their feet, some tripping over their luggage as they ran.
I raised my hands to try and calm the people. “You teleported us to the airport in front of all these people?”
Pade rubbed the back of his neck. He looked around with embarrassment. “Sorry man, but I’ve never been in the underground base. I’ve only ever been to this airport to catch a plane. When I thought of the airport, this is the picture that came to mind.”
“This is going to be a mess.”
“Hopefully it’s one your agent friends can fix.”
I shook my head. “Sylvia’s going to freak when she hears about this.”
“Can you get us out of here?” he asked, looking around at the stares. A woman to his right held up her phone. Pade waved his hand and the phone disappeared. The woman shrieked and ran in the opposite direction.
“Smooth move,” I said. “Follow me.”
We ran through the terminal and down an escalator I knew well; the escalator exited to a floor with an elevator to our left. People shouted behind us, but I never looked back. Two security agents turned our way without breaking their conversation. We had minutes maybe before someone sounded an alarm and tried to stop us.
At the elevator doors, I shifted the ‘out of order’ sign to the side and stepped over the yellow chain while punching a special code into the keypad at my right. The elevator doors slid open and I waited for Pade to follow me inside. He jumped in behind me and I pressed the sequence of numbers and letters that would take us inside the base.
I breathed a sigh of relief when the doors opened and I stepped out. Agents walked the hall up ahead. I motioned for Pade to follow, unsure of the best place to start. Sylvia was going to rake me over the coals for this one. Not to mention the fact she might lock me back on the isolation floor.
No one was keeping me from seeing Rena. But first we had to make sure Sylvia knew about the threats from
space. If Pade was lucky, maybe she wouldn’t try to lock him up as well.
A few agents gave me strange looks. Agent Dallas came from an adjoining hall; she stopped as soon as she noticed me. At the other end of the hall was an elevator that could take me to the floor with Sylvia’s office.
I ran by her. “Don’t ask.”
“I wasn’t going to,” she shouted after me.
The elevator opened, and Angel and Skip stared at us in shock.
“Angela,” I said, calling her by the name our mother gave her. I threw my arms around her. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
Still in shock, she patted my back and pushed me away. Her gaze focused on Pade as if I didn’t exist. “How did you get in here?”
“I lost my powers again,” I said. “Pade teleported us to the airport. I brought him below.”
“After all this time you’re back.” Angel put her hands on her hips. “You left without saying goodbye.”
“I suck at goodbyes,” he said.
Did Pade know about her powers? If not, he was in for a surprise. The way Angel glared at him, I expected her to use her power of control to make him sorry. To my surprise, she lowered her hands and smiled. She pulled him into a hug.
“I don’t remember your skin feeling this cold,” he said.
“There’s a lot you won’t remember about me.”
“You can say that again.” Skip held out a hand and shook with Pade, but pulled Pade into a hug before releasing him. “It’s about time you show your face around here. You picked a heck of a day.”
Pade and Skip launched into a conversation about why Pade left and the town where they grew up. The two seemed lost in their trip down memory lane. It was like Pade had never left.
Angel put her arms around my neck. “I’ll forgive you for calling me Angela this time.” She drew back and held out her hands, palms up. Red welts covered her arms below the wrists, the skin she’d used to touch me.
“I think your powers are back.” As she said the words, her healing power kicked in and the welts began to fade.
“No,” I yelled. “This can’t be happening.”
Pade watched as Angel’s welts healed. “That’s a wicked power.”
Regret hit me hard. “If I caused the welts, that means my powers are returning. I haven’t got the chance to see Rena yet.”
“Don’t give up that fast,” Pade said. “The queen gave you more of the serum, remember?”
I swung around to Pade. “How did you know she gave me the serum? You weren’t in that room.”
He shrugged. “Lucky guess.”
Angel looked from me to Pade in confusion. I opened the pocket near my shoulder and pulled out the purple vial, along with the silver dime, which I handed to Angel.
She took the coin. “I don’t understand.”
“Pade said it was…” Behind me, he stood perfectly still with a smile. “This wasn’t Angel’s, was it?”
He shook his head. “It has a tracking device so I could find you, just in case.”
“That’s how you found the island,” I said.
Angel covered a laugh. “He tracked you?”
“Does everyone in the world think they can track me?”
“Apparently so.” Her humor faded. “Travis… if you got more of the serum, what did you have to give the queen in exchange?”
“Forgiveness.” I stared at the purple liquid. “For what I’m not sure.”
“That should get you through the night,” Pade said.
Angel’s mouth fell open. “What happened on this other planet? You stayed there long enough for Pade to corrupt you? Poor Rena.”
“We need to see Sylvia first,” I said. “She needs to know what happened with Louis Castillo and an old threat from space.”
“I think I can manage filling her in,” Pade said. “She might be shocked to see me, but hopefully she’ll listen.”
“We’ve got this,” Angel said. “It’s been a tough week for Rena. She’s in her room; I was there fifteen minutes ago. If you hurry, maybe she’ll still be up.”
“You’re the best sister in the world.” I held up the vial. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
Laughter from Angel echoed as the elevator closed.
* * * * *
I stopped by my room long enough to shower and change. My heart pounded as I walked the halls to Rena’s room. At her door, I hesitated.
“This isn’t the time for fear.” I took a deep breath and knocked.
Rena opened the door and stared up at me, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re back.”
“You knew I’d be back.” Where was the Rena I knew? This wasn’t the same girl who had to search for something to fear. “You read my letter.”
“You helped me escape.”
“But you came back.”
“Van…” Her voice broke. “I can’t do this anymore. I’m not agent material.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Van told me Tyler got you out. I was afraid you’d stay on the other planet.”
“Afraid? Are we talking about the same Rena Mason who went to the sun?”
“I want to hear about this other place. Did you find your dad?”
“We can talk about my trip tomorrow. Tonight is ours.” I watched her face, unable to believe we were finally together. “The queen gave me more of the serum. Enough for one night.”
She put a hand to her mouth. “We get another night?”
I leaned forward until our foreheads touched. She took a breath and spoke in a rattled voice. “You’ve already taken it.”
“I couldn’t wait a second longer.” I took Rena in my arms and kissed her lips.
She moaned, urging me to take the kiss deeper as she slid her arms around me, drawing me even closer.
I pulled back and held her arms while staring into her eyes. “I don’t want to wait any longer. Whatever you’re good with, we’ll stop there.”
She stood on her toes and kissed me again. “I don’t want to wait either.”
“You… don’t?” My insides lit on fire.
“You’re not afraid, are you?” she asked in a teasing voice.
“Never.”
Rena took my hands and guided me to where she wanted to be touched. “You don’t sound sure. Where is the agent who taught me how to fear?”
I wrapped my arms around Rena and lifted her up to kiss me. “Here to stay.”
As she led me to her bedroom, I knew I’d never forget this night.
Chapter Nineteen
Rena
I woke in my bedroom with Travis’s arms wrapped around me. I snuggled closer, wanting to enjoy every minute of touching him.
He opened his eyes, staring at me with the deep green I’d come to adore. His lips curved into a smile, satisfied and the closest to relaxed I’d ever seen him. Travis leaned into me and placed a kiss on my forehead.
“That’s all I get?” I asked. “I figured after last night…”
“I wasn’t myself last night.” His voice sounded hoarse and he turned away to cough. “You know the real Travis Payne wouldn’t take advantage of the person he loves.”
The word love echoed in my head. I smiled and pulled him close enough to kiss his lips. His skin felt warm against mine. “What about the real Rena Mason? Last time we spent the night together, I was scared of us taking things to the next level.”
“What changed?”
“I guess I grew up and finally decided what I wanted.”
“Which is?”
“To help people. To save lives. To be the best agent possible.” I kissed him. “To love you.”
Even after everything that happened in the last week, after watching Rachelle give her all to save us, I knew happiness still existed. The aching in my chest was gone; with a twinge of guilt, I felt glad to have lived through facing the sun. Giddy, really that I was able to have this night with Travis.
“Did Tyler take you to the other planet?”
&nb
sp; “Yeah.” Travis laughed, a sound full of happiness, like the hard-core agent had finally found peace. “On a spaceship. Is it hard for you to believe, Miss Science? It’s still hard for me to believe.”
“After flying on a spaceship to the sun, it’s not hard to believe. Besides, I don’t think my double-oh-seven can surprise me any more than he already has.”
Travis placed a kiss on the tip of my nose. “There is one more thing.”
My heart began to race. After last night, what else could he be hiding? “Should I be worried?”
He gathered my hands in his. “I want to make our relationship official.”
I smiled. “You want to tell everyone we’re dating? I think everyone at the base can guess.”
His voice was soft, unhinged. “I want you to marry me.”
“Travis—”
“When you’re ready. I won’t force you into any kind of commitment until you’re ready. No one will ever force you into anything as long as I’m alive. Just know I’m ready to say ‘I do’ to you Regina Mason. You and only you. When you say the word, you’ll make me the happiest person here. Anywhere.”
“You’re not happy now?”
“With you, I’m always happy. I never understood what was missing from my life until I met you.”
“What about your powers?”
“I told you before, I’ll find a way to make this work. Whatever it takes.”
“I can’t believe you’re saying this,” I whispered. “When I heard you were gone, Tyler told me you were safe from Sylvia. He never told me where or how long you’d be gone.”
“I did whatever it took to get back here. Bargain, fight, prison break…”
“Prison break?”
“Long story, but the point is I came back. No one was keeping me from you.”
“What about your dad?” I asked.
“What have you heard about him?”
“Sylvia told me he returned and met with her yesterday. She said he’s been deep undercover for the last thirteen years while trying to stop a disaster.”
“Yesterday?” Travis stared at the far wall. “So that’s where he was.”