The Mind Keepers (The Mind Readers)

by Lori Brighton

  We fell to the ground with a thud, gasps of pain slipping from our lips. His energy was stronger than I’d expected. But how? He didn’t carry the source. I shoved my hands into the wet grass and sat up. Unless S.P.I. had somehow enhanced his abilities. I wouldn’t put it past them.

  “He’s strong,” Cameron whispered. “Too strong.”

  “S.P.I., they had to have done something to enhance his powers.” If he was greedy for power, and S.P.I. could offer it to him, then he would take it. I’d seen better men fold under the offer. “You!” I shouted. “You’re the one who told Mom about the boat. Told her that Aaron had Cameron on the river.”

  I stumbled to my feet, Cameron standing up beside me.

  “I’d always wondered how Mom knew that Cameron was out there. My dad couldn’t fight her in the tunnels; he needed her out in the open. You told her. You set her up. She died because you betrayed her!”

  “Bastard!” Cameron threw her energy at him.

  He stumbled back but held his ground. He shouldn’t still be standing. Why wasn’t he collapsing? I grabbed Cameron’s hand and together we tried again, combining our energy. Nothing. The old man merely started toward us, calm as you please.

  “It can’t go on anymore, girls.” He cut his arm through the air. His energy hit us hard, and we stumbled back, but managed to retain our footing. “This fighting. This war.”

  He hit us again with his energy, harder this time. Our feet fell out from underneath us, and we flew back into the trees. I landed with a thud upon a patch of wet leaves. Cameron wasn’t so lucky. She cried out as her head hit a root, the thunk echoing through the woods.

  Frantic, I crawled toward her, the palms of my hands sinking into the damp forest floor. “You okay?”

  She nodded, but she wasn’t okay. A fine line of brilliant red blood trailed down her forehead, mixing with the rain and shimmering under the light of the moon. Even in the dull light I could tell she was dazed.

  I cupped the sides of her face, forcing her to focus on me. “Run. Get Lewis and go.”

  “No.” She shoved my hands away. Ignoring my outstretched fingers, she gripped a tree branch and pulled herself upright, gaining my respect and admiration.

  My sister was in this till the end. She wouldn’t abandon me. She would never betray me. I surged up beside her, more determined than ever. If she could go on, I sure as hell could, too.

  Father Myron had to have a weakness. He was powerful, but he didn’t have the source like we did. I glanced toward my aunt. She was still fighting, holding her own, but she would be of no help. No, this was our war now.

  “You implanted the vision of Maddox in my mind,” Cameron said, swiping the blood from her forehead. “I felt an energy from the vision but didn’t recognize it, didn’t understand it. You wanted us here. It was a trap. ”

  “Cameron!” Lewis had noticed, or maybe felt her pain and was racing toward us, tossing aside soldier after soldier in his attempt to get to her. Idiot, he was going to get himself killed. We were all losing it and fast. We needed to regain control before it was too late.

  “What do you want from us?” I asked, merely to keep him busy. There were about twenty soldiers still standing as far as I could tell, and Aunt Lyndsey and Lewis were doing their best to keep them at bay. But their best wasn’t good enough.

  Father Myron paused about ten feet from us. I’d always thought those eyes kind, but now his gaze sent a cold chill down my spine. Mom hadn’t known, that was the worst of it. She had trusted him like she’d trusted no other. “What I’ve always wanted. Peace.”

  “Peace?” Cameron released a wry laugh. “And we don’t want peace? You don’t think we’re sick of running, fighting?”

  The rain around us thickened, rattling the leaves like mini spectators cheering in a Roman stadium. Father Myron started toward us once more, his hands folded demurely in front of him. “Then accept my offer of peace.”

  I released a wry laugh. “Being in a cell, having S.P.I. torture you is not peace.”

  “If you agree to work for S.P.I., for this country, then you won’t be tortured. If you pledge your loyalty, we will make sure--”

  “Seriously? You really think I’m going to trust S.P.I.?” Insane. The guy was freaking insane. “You pretend you’re doing this for the greater good? Bull. You’re doing this for the same reason men have been starting wars for centuries: for power. At least have the balls to admit it.”

  What’s the plan? Cameron mentally asked me. Attack together?

  “If that’s what you wish to think, so be it,” the man said.

  Whether it was a whispered message from the heavens or just plain luck, I realized in that moment what we had to do. No, not together. You attack first. When he sends out his energy, that split second while he’s focused on you is when he’ll be most vulnerable, when it will be hardest to block me. But we better do it fast because your boyfriend is going to get himself killed trying to reach you.

  She threw a startled glanced toward Lewis, who was still fighting his way here like a maniac. It was the push she needed. Without pause, she faced Father Myron and threw her energy. The man wavered but didn’t fall. When I saw him focus on Cameron, his eyes intense and determined, that’s when I took her hand.

  The energy came fast, my body familiar with it now. Our powers mixed together and flowed from us in a brilliant burst that tossed aside the rain, and made the trees and leaves rattle. Struck hard, Father Myron’s face went pale, his body convulsing. He was doing his damndest to fight us back, but it wasn’t working. We’d hit him when he was most vulnerable. Together we were unstoppable. I tightened my hold on her hand and didn’t let go, not even when Father Myron cried out, jerking back and forth like a worm on a hook.

  “Cameron,” Lewis cried out. “Watch your back.”

  We both jerked our heads toward him.

  Five soldiers had formed a wall, their rifles pointed at us. “Hell,” I muttered.

  “Aim, fire!” one of them yelled.

  I didn’t think, I didn’t have time. Instinct had me focusing on the agents. Just like that, the energy we’d used on Father Myron shifted, surging toward the line of agents. I couldn’t see it, but I could feel the clear shield around us. Light faded, the sounds of soldiers shouting faded. Vaguely, I was aware of Lewis and Aunt Lyndsey panicked behind that line of agents, terrified we were going to die, yet unable to get to us. But we didn’t die. The bullets bounced off the energy shield, falling pathetically to the grass.

  “Holy crap,” I whispered, turning my shocked gaze to Cameron. “That’s amazing.”

  She looked back at me, just as startled. “I’m not doing it.”

  “Then who…”

  She quirked a brow.

  It was me. I was creating the force field. Surprised, I released my hold on her hand. The energy field wavered, collapsing like a bubble that had burst.

  “Hold it,” Lewis called out.

  Aunt Lyndsey had managed to destroy the line of soldiers with her energy, sending them falling over like dominoes. They lay strewn unconscious about the tracks, their rifles useless beside them. But there were more… at least fifteen more coming at her.

  Reaching us, Lewis grasped onto Cameron’s hand. “If I help, can you form the shield?”

  She shook her head. “I have no idea how. Nora was doing it.”

  He raked his wet hair from his face and glanced at me, as shocked as I felt.

  I shook my head. “Don’t look at me, I have no idea how I did it either.”

  “Then Cameron and I will use our powers to hold them back as well as we can.” Lewis swiped at the rain trailing down his stoic features. “You search for Maddox.”

  I didn’t hesitate but raced toward the car where Father Myron had appeared. Jumping over his lifeless body, I grabbed the hand-rail and leaped inside. My heart hammered frantically, urging me to hurry. I could hear the shouts of the few remaining soldiers fighting Aunt Lyndsey. She’d managed to destroy most of them
, but S.P.I. would be sending more agents, I had no doubt.

  The car was pitch-black. Empty. Only a few seats were bolted to the floor. Frantic to find him, I started to turn away when a familiar sensation, a comforting sensation, wrapped around me, urging me to stay. “He’s here.” I darted toward the dark shadows at the back of the car, evading the chairs. “He’s in here!”

  “Get him out, hurry!” Lewis shouted back.

  I found Maddox easily, a large, dark shadow in the corner of the cart that I’d almost missed. Falling hard to my knees, I slid toward him. His chin was on his chest, his eyes closed. Still, so damn still. “Maddox, can you hear me?”

  I cupped the sides of his face, his cheeks rough with whiskers. He still lived, I had to remind myself, resisting the urge to panic. His body was weak, but his energy was still strong.

  “Maddox!”

  His thick lashes lifted, his hazy gaze focusing on me. My hope flared. It hadn’t all been for nothing. He was here; he was alive.

  “Hands,” he muttered. “Tied.”

  I pulled the knife from my boot and reached around him, cutting the bindings that dug into his wrists. He was weak, almost gone. The anger inside me flared, thrumming, urging me to take revenge. This source was a real witch.

  “You idiot,” he mumbled weakly. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “A thank you would be nice.” I shoved the knife back into its sheath and wrapped my arm around his waist, helping him to his feet. As much as I wanted to hold him, kiss him, tell him what a jerk he was for staying with S.P.I., we didn’t have time. He leaned heavily on me. Gritting my teeth, and using what strength I retained, I somehow managed to lead him toward the open door.

  “Nora!” Lewis called out. “Could use some help.”

  Not a moment’s rest. I released my hold on Maddox and jumped from the train. Lewis and Cameron were doing their best to fight off five soldiers, while Aunt Lyndsey took on the three remaining. But it wasn’t the remaining agents who worried me. In the distance I could hear the sound of sirens. If the local police arrived, no way we were getting out of this without media attention.

  I helped Maddox down. Great, he looked even worse in the moonlight. “You okay?”

  “Nora!” Cameron called out.

  With a sigh, I wrapped my arm around Maddox’s waist, and we hobbled toward them. Maddox put more of his weight on me with every step, making our process painfully slow.

  “You need to go,” he gasped, breathless with exhaustion. “Leave me behind.”

  I ignored him, struggling on. “We didn’t come all the way here to leave you behind, so shut up.”

  “I can’t hold up much longer,” Cameron warned, her body trembling. I didn’t miss the way she leaned against Lewis. They were both done, and Aunt Lyndsey, only a few feet away, didn’t look much better. I studied the area, taking in the multiple, unmoving bodies. We had taken most of them out, but at least seven remained. We couldn’t fail now. The police sirens grew louder. They were almost here.

  Aunt Lyndsey leapt over a fallen agent, breathlessly reaching our side. “Can you replace the shield with my help?”

  “I think so.” I glanced at Lewis. “Take Cameron and get to the car. We’ll be there soon.”

  “No, we need to help,” Cameron protested.

  Ignoring her, Lewis scooped Cameron up into his arms just as she started to slump toward the ground. “We’ll be waiting.”

  They merged into the trees, fading into the darkness.

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” I said to Maddox.

  He grinned, his white teeth flashing, charming even half-dead. “I wouldn’t want to be stuck with anyone else.”

  I paused at Aunt Lyndsey’s side. Maddox leaned heavily into me, but I was barely aware. I needed to concentrate on surviving, not on the impossible, gorgeous man beside me. “Ready?”

  She nodded. “Ready.”

  I slid my hand into hers. The energy flared through my body, a heated wave that threatened to burn me from the inside out. I bit my lower lip until I tasted blood, refusing to cry out. Aunt Lyndsey’s hand tightened, as if she feared I’d bolt. I admit, I thought about it. The source hit me hard, tearing through me like a tornado. What Cameron and I had done was nothing compared to this. I stumbled under the weight of the force, the entire world fading. The source of all energy, all power…coursed through me. Me.

  I couldn’t hold on much longer. My head began to ache, pain radiating through my body. One by one the soldiers began to fall. They weren’t the only ones going down. My knees trembled under my weight.

  Unable to take the energy radiating from us, I felt Maddox fade, leaning heavily on me. Crap, crap, crap. I knew what was going to happen.

  What do you do when a 180 pound muscled man collapses?

  You collapse with him.

  Chapter 9

  “Damn stupid,” a familiar voice growled, breaking unceremoniously through the fog where I floated in wonderful, peaceful oblivion. “She could have died.”

  As much as I wanted to ignore the pull of his voice, I couldn’t. His words were too angry, too shocking. Confused, I tried to swim out of the gray haze toward the light hovering above. I wanted to see the man who spoke, to touch his face, offer him comfort for some reason I couldn’t even begin to understand, but I could barely get my eyes open. So tired, so freaking tired.

  “Why test her?” he asked, the hard tone of his voice snapping through my consciousness and bringing me harshly back into reality. Slowly, I became aware of my body tingling, the heaviness of my limbs.

  I felt the bed dip as he shifted closer to me, his familiar scent wrapping around me like a warm blanket. His scent and the touch of his hand on my face made me only too aware of my body and his. Maddox. Slowly, ever so slowly, I sank into my hard, cold form. I hadn’t wanted to return, but it was worth it, whatever uncomfortableness I now felt was worth it in order to see him.

  “You’d be dead, you muscled oaf, if I hadn’t,” my aunt growled back.

  Oh God, they were arguing, and I was pretty sure it was about me. The only good thing was that we were apparently still alive; we’d escaped S.P.I.’s evil grip. Unless this was my personal version of hell. Stuck for eternity with my aunt and Maddox in a crappy motel room.

  You okay? Cameron’s voice whispered through my mind while my aunt and Maddox continued to argue about what I was and wasn’t capable of doing.

  They might not have noticed that I had woken up, but Cameron had. Perhaps she’d felt my mind become alert, or maybe I had shifted. I reached out mentally, feeling my aunt, Maddox and Lewis’s familiar energies in the room. Oh joy, they were all here to witness my emergence from unconsciousness.

  Yeah, I’m fine. What happened? I so wasn’t ready to open my eyes and face Maddox, and even worse, face whatever had happened. Still, the realization that we had actually succeeded hit me hard. Maddox was alive. He was here. The sudden sting of tears caught me off guard. I was an emotional mess, but I refused to cry. I was a warrior, damn it.

  What S.P.I. agents were left, passed out from the energy you and Aunt Lyndsey created, Cameron continued. You fainted while connecting with the source. Aunt Lyndsey called for help. I heard her and sent Lewis. Together, they managed to get you and Maddox back to the car.

  I resisted the urge to reach for the itch on my side, not wanting Maddox to know I was conscious. Connecting to Aunt Lyndsey’s energy, directly to the source, had been too much. So far these new powers were a real pain in the ass. The police?

  Aunt Lyndsey was able to make them think they heard us farther down the road. Gave us enough time to escape.

  Of course. She had my powers of persuasion. Or maybe my powers came from her. Where are we?

  A motel in Virginia.

  “You knew she could get injured, but you didn’t freaking care,” Maddox growled. “It’s all about the win to you, no matter what the casualties. How are you any different from S.P.I.?”

  “Watch it,” Aun
t Lyndsey seethed. Lord, they were two alphas in a small room together, having a pissing contest. I should’ve known they wouldn’t get along.

  Get our aunt out of here, will you? Give me a moment with him.

  Sure. Cameron grew silent. I wasn’t sure where she sat, but there was no shifting of movement, and I wondered what was keeping her. I didn’t have to wonder long.

  What was it like, feeling the full force of the source?

  What had it been like? I knew why she asked: this would be not only my future, but her future as well. For some reason, I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about it. Hard to explain. It was…amazing, scary. As if nothing else existed. In that power, I realized oddly enough that everything would be okay. It didn’t matter what happened. We still survived, our energy anyway.

  Apparently I had appeased her curiosity, for moments later I heard Cameron stand. Hey, just to let you know, he’s been a wreck since you fainted.

  I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I didn’t. But I couldn’t deny the heated flush that tiptoed up my neck and into my cheeks. I didn’t want to care, but I did. The urge to laugh overwhelmed me. I didn’t need a guy in my life. In fact, I’d resigned myself to only the occasional fling. I’d known after the relationship with Maddox that I could never settle down with anyone. And honestly, I’d been fine with that. But now…now he was making me think stupid thoughts I didn’t want to have.

  Could we have a somewhat normal life? Could we have that relationship Lewis and Cameron had?

  No.

  I opened my eyes, annoyed at my lapse in rationality. We couldn’t have a life together because Maddox wasn’t a mind reader. It didn’t matter that Maddox was in better shape than anyone I knew. It didn’t matter that he knew martial arts moves that could easily kill a normal human. It didn’t matter because in my world, he wouldn’t be around normal humans. He’d be vulnerable. I’d lost my mother, I couldn’t lose him.