by J. L. Weil
I stood in the center of the room and lifted my arms up. “Already am.”
He shook his head, scooping his damp shirt off the floor. “I’ll do the talking. Got it?”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
Cyan sat at a table in the far corner of the room, the perfect nook for secret discussions. His eyes landed on me and then moved to Dash. Did his lips twitch? It was hard to tell in the dimly lit bar.
“Cyan, I tried to—”
He held up a hand. “No need to explain. Honestly, I expected Charlotte. Girls like her don’t take no for an answer, do you love?”
My lips curved. “Damn straight. I give you my word. Nothing I hear will be repeated.”
Dash sent me a glare. “What happened to me doing the talking?”
Cyan laughed. “You have much to learn about love, Slayer, and what battles are worth conceding. Sit, before the two of you draw unwanted attention. You attract enough by just walking into a room.”
We did?
I glanced around, curious if anyone cared about two Institute runaways, but Cyan was right. Dash and I had drawn more than one pair of eyes. Gunner, at the bar, winked as my gaze passed over him. For it being midnight, Odd Hill was a hopping little joint. Laughter reverberated around the room and glasses clinked together, and as we took a seat, I couldn’t help but notice a reduction in volume.
“Why?” I asked. “What’s so different about us?”
Cyan wrapped his hand around the cold drink in front of him. “Other than your value to the Institute? There are people who can see the future. Your future.”
“Charlotte has the ability of sight,” Dash revealed, surprising me.
“It isn’t something I’ve learned to control, and more than half the time it is unpredictable,” I added to be clear that the ability wasn’t always reliable.
Cyan’s eyes looked at me with curiosity. “You just keep getting more interesting. We have a seer here in Hurst. She has seen pieces of your destiny, and your future is linked to Dash’s, but I think you guys have figured that out.”
I’d never put much stock in destiny. I believed I made my own choices, and even after being given the gift of sight, I still believed nothing in the future was set in stone. Saving Star had been proof that the visions I saw could be altered. If we knew what was coming, then we could change it for the better. I leaned forward, my elbows resting on the table. “What has she seen?”
“There is a battle coming. We don’t know when or why, but it is coming. She can’t see everything, only that you and Dash have the means to win it.”
“Helpful,” I mumbled, sneaking back into my seat.
Dash stiffened beside me. “You didn’t ask me here to talk about prophecies. What has happened?”
Cyan lifted his glass, taking a pull from his drink. “Things have become strained in the Institute after Charlotte managed to escape. It hasn’t quieted down like it usually does. Their efforts to find you have only tripled, and you won’t be able to outrun them for long, not when they have eyes everywhere. Guards have been stationed around the clock at the holding houses, and they won’t let you slip through their fingers… not again, you can count on it.”
Dash’s jaw hardened. “I appreciate the warning. Is there anything else?”
Cyan’s eyes moved from Dash to me. He seemed to be deciding how much he could trust me. “They’ve started the trials on human subjects.”
Dash nodded. “Charlotte had a vision before she left of the Institute using Star as one of those subjects. It killed her.”
“You saved her life,” Cyan said, holding up his glass in salute.
“I did what any friend would do.”
He lifted a brow. “Maybe a hundred years ago, but here in the Heights, everyone is out for themselves. The two of you have something the Institute would kill to get their hands on.”
Dash’s eyes clashed with mine.
That something was our blood.
I swallowed. “Why does the Institute care so much about Dash’s and my DNA? What makes us so special?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question,” Dash pondered.
My mind tumbled through the possibilities. “Dash seems obvious. If you were looking to build an army, what better way than to have men with the ability to kill, knowing you’d never miss your intended target? But me? I’m no weapon.”
Cyan blinked. “You have something the Institute has never encountered. Multiple gifts. Four of them. No one in the Heights has ever demonstrated more than two.”
Surprise flickered in my expression. “So you know what I can do?”
Cyan’s sharp eyes met Dash’s. “I do. Have you figured out the fourth?”
I shook my head. “Not yet. It might be better if I never do.” Who knew? The theory about the colors in my eyes could be wrong. What if I only had three abilities, not four as everyone assumed?
“Or maybe it is what we need to balance the scales,” Cyan suggested.
I tapped my fingers on the tabletop. God, I hoped not. I didn’t want to be that important. If the fate of mankind rested on my shoulders, we were doomed. “I don’t understand. Why does the Institute need an army? Who are they gearing up to fight? Certainly not us? Even if the regions of Hurst banded together, the Institute would still have the advantage. So what’s the big threat?”
Dash angled his body toward me. “We don’t know for sure. As you know, the Institute keeps more than its share of intel under lock and key. Only the members of the council have that kind of clearance. They’re not telling anyone for a reason, and we can only assume it is bad. It isn’t just a revolt they’re preparing for.”
“Why go to so much trouble to replicate DNA from people who have been altered by the mist?” I asked.
Cyan flicked his gaze to Dash. “Whatever it is, I have a feeling it will affect us all. We might not have a choice but to fight.”
“I’m more worried about what they will do to me after they’ve taken my DNA,” Dash grumbled.
A chill skirted down my spine. I got the inkling that Cyan was right. Something out there had the Institute spooked.
The night was long after we returned back to my room. Dash lay quiet beside me in the dark. I wanted to tell him everything would be okay, but how could I when I wasn’t positive myself? It would be a lie. I didn’t know what would happen. Not today. Tomorrow. Or next week.
We hadn’t really talked since leaving Odd Hill. I was sure Dash was trying to plot some scheme to keep me safe. At this point, I wasn’t sure from whom. The Institute was the immediate threat, but after that?
I hadn’t let myself think of my parents and how they might be feeling since I left. Did they miss their daughter or just what they wanted from me?
Sadly, my instincts told me it was the latter.
It was late when I felt him circle an arm around my waist, tugging me to his chest. With the Institute closing in around us, it was hard to fall asleep, but weariness had settled into both of us, dragging us under.
It wasn’t until late the next morning that I untangled myself from Dash to check on Star. Throwing my hair into a messy bun, I shoved the loose curls behind my ears. I’d given up long ago trying to manage my hair, but man was I overdue for a cut.
Quietly I tossed on some clothes and shuffled next door. I rapped my knuckles on the wood, and it swung open before I got three knocks in. “Hey—”
Star grabbed my arm and tugged me inside a small room identical to mine. The only thing missing was a sexy, sleeping Dash. “Where were you?” she demanded.
“Hold up, crazy lady. When?”
She stared at me as if I was the one acting loony. “Last night.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “I couldn’t sleep, so I went to the tavern.”
“They have a bar?”
My lips twitched. “If you can call the Odd Hill a bar.”
Star stared out the window, serious lines crinkling the corners of her soft eyes. “I don’t know if I can sta
y here.”
“Why not? They have food, a bed. You could get a job in the market, and I bet there are hot guys.”
“Have you seen any hot guys?” she countered, popping her hip out to one side.
“I can’t really be objective. No one compares to Dash.”
Star rolled her eyes, but at least the worry had receded and there might have even been a glimmer of a smile. “See, this is why I need you. I don’t know anyone here.”
“You didn’t know anyone when you came to the Institute either,” I reminded her.
She sighed, sinking onto the edge of her bed. “It is gonna suck without you. I wish you didn’t have to leave.”
I sat down on the bed beside her, bumping our shoulders together. “Me too.” Star and I had been through a lot. She’d been my companion when I had no one. Together we had escaped Diamond Towers, and we’d survived dating the same guy. How many friends could say that?
Her fingers fiddled in her lap. “Couldn’t you stay? Just for a little longer?”
I shook my head. “I can’t. The Institute is doing everything in their power to find me, and if they catch us, I don’t want you going back there.”
“Because of what you saw?” she asked softly.
I nodded. “I don’t want to take the chance that they might try to use you as one of their test subjects.”
“Yeah, I’d rather not end up with hot pink leopard skin or growing a third boob,” she joked, attempting to lighten the ominous mood.
I laughed. “You would totally rock that look.”
We only stayed in Hurst another day before packing up our stingy belongings and preparing to run from the Institute for as long as we could, or until we came up with a better plan. The time had come for us to part ways with Star, and it was a bitter moment. Inside I was conflicted. I wanted her to be safe, but I couldn’t be sure this was the best way.
Star stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to Dash’s cheek, and then she turned to me. “Don’t barbecue me, okay?”
I grinned. “It crossed my mind.”
The next thing I knew, she had launched herself at me, throwing her arms around my neck. “The two of you are going to change the world,” she whispered.
People kept saying that, but I was still unconvinced Dash and I could do anything so monumental. We were only two humans, and yes, we had extraordinary gifts, but saving the world? Geez. No pressure.
Don’t cry. Do not cry.
“I’m coming back,” I whispered, giving her one last squeeze.
“Promise?” Star sniffed as her arms released me, fighting back tears of her own.
My chest seized like someone had pinched my heart. “We’re a team.”
Star smiled at me through watery eyes. “Always.”
“We should go,” Dash murmured softly, laying a hand on the small of my back.
“You better take care of her. If anyone can keep Charlotte alive, it is you,” Star told Dash.
“No doubt I’ll have my work cut out for me.”
Star scrunched her nose. “This is weird, isn’t it?”
I rubbed my chest where it felt like a gaping hole had opened up. “Probably,” I agreed. “But who cares? Weird works for us.”
Chapter Nineteen
We were winging things as usual.
Dash and I had no plan, no destination in mind—only to outrun the Institute until we figured out the reasoning behind the need for an army of people with unusual gifts.
I couldn’t say I was thrilled to be traipsing around in the woods again. Besides the bugs as big as my hand and the cracked-out animals, Misty Grove could be both magical and fatal. It was as if it couldn’t make up its mind whether to dazzle or kill me.
“So, what part of the Heights are we venturing to?” I asked, stepping over a mound of moss that I was certain housed a nasty little critter I didn’t want to meet.
“Huh?” Dash stared off into the woods, lost in his own little world. I watched as the silver flecks in his eyes came back into focus. “Um, I don’t know yet.”
“Are you okay?” He was more than distracted. I could sense it.
“Yeah. Just thinking,” he muttered.
“About?” I prompted.
“Something is following us.”
“What?” I hissed between my teeth, frantically looking over my shoulder.
Dash shook his head and grabbed my hand. “Keep moving. You would make a horrible spy.”
I scowled. “How long have you known?”
He shrugged, lacing our fingers together, which somehow took the sting out of him not telling me sooner. “Pretty much since we left Hurst.”
“That was hours ago. Why didn’t you say anything?” I could have done something—no clue what, but at least I could have paid attention more.
His eyes darkened, a rigidness moving into his shoulders. “I didn’t want to spook them or tip them off until I figured out their intentions and if they were alone.”
We kept walking, our pace even. I had to fight the instinct to hurry my strides and put as much distance between us and whoever tracked us as I could. “And did you? Are they alone?”
“I don’t think what is following us is a person.”
My head did a double take. “Say again?”
“I’m not sure they are human,” he responded.
“What else could possibly be pursuing us? Do creatures do that in the Heights?”
Dash lowered his lashes, shielding his eyes. “I haven’t come across anything this intelligent. If it was hunting us for food, it would have already made its move. The fact that it keeps its distance, only watching us, makes me nervous.”
I slung my hair up into a quick messy bun in case any action suddenly came our way. “You think it might have something to do with the Institute?”
“Stranger things have happened.”
That I could attest to. “Do we do something?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Just keep walking and act normal.”
He was funny. There was nothing normal about being stalked, and the only thing I could think to do was create a distraction. “Is there a holding house nearby?”
Dash gave me a droll look. “No, not for miles that I know of.”
“Oh.”
“Why the long face?”
I peeked at him. “I was thinking about your family. They’re still out there.”
“I haven’t given up, if that’s what you’re hinting at. I’m prioritizing. Right now, we need to fly under the radar and avoid the holding houses. I’m not willing to take the chance now that they’ve increased security. We’d be walking right into their trap.”
“I never meant for you to stop searching. It isn’t fair.” I had found my family, however messed up they might be, but Dash was still an orphan in the Heights. Regardless that it was unintentional, I was the reason he couldn’t continue the search. The guilt felt all too real inside me.
His sharp eyes darted toward the treetops. “Neither is living a life on the run.” He had stopped walking and slipped a hand to the small of my back. “You haven’t done anything to deserve their relentless pursuit.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck, angling my head to the side. “Just unlucky genes.”
He grinned. “I like your genes,” he murmured, leaning forward and brushing his lips across mine.
It was easy to settle into the kiss, so beautiful and perfect. A feeling of completeness filled me. Dash might not have said he loved me, but every time his lips touched mine, he claimed me as his. This was my kind of distraction, and I completely forgot about the prospective danger … at least for a hot minute.
As I wove my fingers into his silky hair, something rustled in the trees, shaking the leaves over our heads, and Dash stiffened. We broke apart, and my eyes were drawn to a branch that hung eye level to Dash and me. There was no mistaking those golden eyes.
“Blink, what are you doing here?” I groaned. Couldn’t he have waited a few minutes? I wasn’t near
ly done kissing Dash.
The bird cocked his head from side to side. “It’s nice to see you too.”
“You know this creature?” Dash asked, giving the large black bird the stink eye.
I nodded, a little taken back he could see the sometimes obxnious bird. “This is the Blinken. He helped me escape the Institute.”
“A bird?” Dash questioned, doubt lacing his tone.
“Don’t give me that look. He isn’t just a bird. Are you?”
“I should think not.” Blink flared the feathers trailing down his neck.
Dash’s brows furrowed. “You weren’t kidding. It talks.”
“You helped save my friend. I don’t know how to thank you. We never would have escaped if it weren’t for your help. I owe you,” I told Blink.
“A debt one day I might need to collect, but not today.”
“Someone is coming.” Dash spun around.
The bird’s feathers ruffled, standing straight out. “Trouble is on its way. Stop eating each other’s faces off and defend yourself, unless you want to die lip locked.”
“You brought them here. Led them straight to us,” Dash hurled at the bird.
Outrage splashed across Blink’s eyes. “As if. Get your head out of your ass and protect her.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing since she woke up?” Dash growled.
“If you ask me, you aren’t living up to your reputation, Slayer. If you were, the Institute never would have gotten her.”
Dash cracked his neck. “Tell me why I can’t kill the bird.”
The last thing I wanted to do right now was argue with Dash—about a bird nonetheless. “Because he led me to you… And he is useful, you can’t dispute that.”
“He’s a bird. Why should I trust him?”
I slipped my fingers into Dash’s and tugged. “Can we just get out of here?”
“Finally, the smartest thing either of you have said all day,” Blink griped.
Dash frowned, and I was concerned he was going to pluck every feather from the bird, but his eyes went over my head, and a second later, an arrow whizzed by, just barely nicking my ear. I opened my mouth to shriek, but Dash acted fast. He tackled me to the ground, flattening his body over mine. His silver eyes pinned me to the dirt as he pressed a finger to my lips. “Don’t move,” he whispered.