by Jo Schneider
“Won’t it fill me until I go crazy?” she asked, biting out the words. Hot anger was swelling within her, and it kept getting worse and worse.
“What if someone else uses their magic on you?” Kamau asked, reaching out to take Lys’s hand with his free one. She let him intertwine his fingers with hers, and then hung on for dear life. Her emotions continued to plunge into anger and darkness, and she wanted nothing more than to scream.
“What do you mean?” Ayden asked.
Kamau shrugged. “Well, Mark used his magic on Lys and Brady when they could not get out of it. Does someone else using magic on you help at all?”
Ayden shook his head. “Not that I know about. Mark’s little talent is good for disrupting the flow of magic through a person. It works the best on breakers.”
“I wonder if it goes through those suits,” Jodi asked, changing the subject.
“Good question. We’ll have to try it out when we get back.”
“Try what out?” Kamau asked.
Jodi smiled. “We caught a couple of the New in their suits at the hospital. We’ve got them at the cabin. Mark would be a good test for those suits. We’re trying to figure out how much magic they can take.”
Lys had tried to get through the helmets, but with no luck. How could the New be so powerful? It didn’t seem fair that they could do or go wherever they wanted.
Lys’s mind raged, and her emotions barreled down into a dark abyss. She spoke only so she could think about something besides wanting to let the Need loose and hurting everyone around her. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“Mason’s got a couple of retreats. We’re headed for one of them.” Ayden glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. “Should be there in about an hour.”
An hour? Lys didn’t think she could wait that long.
Ayden and Jodi started talking about the black armor suit again, and Lys reburied her face in her knees.
“Have you tried meditation?” Kamau asked, his lips so close to her ear that she felt his breath move her hair, tickling her neck.
Lys shook her head.
“It might help.”
His voice alone helped, but he could be using magic on her. Part of her didn’t care.
“Take a deep breath,” Kamau said, rubbing her back.
Lys tried, but being curled into a ball didn’t make it easy.
“Again,” he said when she exhaled. “Close your eyes and let your emotions drain away, just like Mark said.”
That wasn’t going to happen, not with Peter’s smiling face looking at her and the memory of her attacking Inez so fresh. Did happiness still exist?
“Come on,” Kamau said, “you have to relax.”
Lys snorted. “Sure, right.”
“Try.” The word bore through her, knocking away a few layers of darkness.
She nodded, taking another breath. A small layer of tension eroded.
“Good,” Kamau said. “Keep going.”
Lys did. She exhaled and tried to let go of everything. Faces of people she cared for swam before her, and the darkness kept blotting them out. She grabbed the light and pressed it forward, crowding the black back into a corner of her mind. Each breath helped, and Lys clung to the light and the feel of Kamau’s hand in hers.
Kamau continued to whisper encouragement in her ear, and Lys followed the words back into the real world. After what felt like an hour, Lys opened her eyes and raised her head, the anger now confined to a small corner of her mind. The Need occupied another corner.
“Better?” Kamau asked.
Lys nodded. She felt even more tired now than she had since this whole thing had started. Exhaustion made her eyelids droop, and her legs were so heavy that they slid off the seat and onto the floor.
“Come on,” Kamau said, “you look spent. Try to get some sleep.”
She didn’t resist as he gathered her in his arms, resting her head against his chest. The thump-thump of his heart filled her ears, and Lys closed her eyes, drifting off into oblivion. The sensation of Kamau kissing her lightly on the top of the head might have been her imagination, but she hoped not.
The rocking of a bump pulled Lys from sleep. She closed her eyes again, not ready to face reality, but another jolt jerked her awake. For a moment she couldn’t figure out where all of her appendages were, then she remembered Kamau and found one of her hands in his and the other wrapped around his waist. His cheek pressed lightly on the top of her head, and she could tell by the depth of his breathing that even after the bumps, he was still sound asleep.
The van bounced and Lys barely managed to keep her head from colliding with Kamau’s chin. She extracted herself and put Kamau’s head on her shoulder, hoping she wouldn’t wake him.
Everyone in the back seat still slept, although now Inez’s head rested on top of Brady’s, which lay on her shoulder. She’d love to see the look on Inez’s face when she woke up.
Ayden’s eyes regarded her in the rear view mirror. “Feeling better?” he asked.
“A little,” Lys said.
Ayden had pulled the van off the main road, and they were winding up a steep mountain trail. Now might not be a good time to mention that she got car sick. Lys leaned over and could see the edge of the road mere inches from the tires. Below her, the hill fell away like a steep ski slope full of rocks.
“We’re almost there; it’s just around this next bend.”
The “next bend” turned out to be a slight understatement. The road continued to wind in and out of trees, just avoiding the edge of the drop off. Ayden took the van around a sharp curve, and Lys’s view of the road ahead disappeared for a few seconds.
When it came back into view, she gasped.
Two figures stood in the middle of the dirt road. They were both dressed in black body armor, and they were both pointing guns at the van.
Chapter 22
Ayden slammed on the brakes, the van fish-tailing as it crunched to a stop.
“Mark!” he bellowed, waking the other man from his nap.
“What the?” Mark said, blinking. He glanced out the front windshield and swore. “Where did they come from?” He looked one hundred percent better, like he’d just spent the last three days loafing around doing nothing. He sat up and reached for the door handle.
“I don’t know,” Ayden said, undoing his seat belt.
Bellows of disturbed dirt whipped around the front of the van. The cloud rolled over the two figures.
The side door to the van opened, and Mark jumped out. Lys could see his hands crackling with electricity. “Get up, Brady,” Mark yelled over his shoulder.
The two figures in black followed Mark with their guns.
Mark wound up like a baseball pitcher.
Lys didn’t even get the chance to choose her reaction. Fear triggered rage, which opened up a path that led from deep inside of her. Magic exploded outward, and she could see not only each and every leaf on the trees around them, but she could see the van from two different angles and then everything inside the van from five different perspectives. She couldn’t tell how many of the New there were, because she didn’t know how many people’s eyes she was looking through.
Ayden was half way out of the door when Jodi yelled, “Wait!”
Jodi rolled down her window. “Guys, what are you doing?” She addressed this to the two figures in black.
“Probably trying to kill us,” Brady said, following Mark.
Jodi shook her head. “Not worth it Mark.”
Lys frowned. These were the bad guys. If she’d had any offensive weapons in her magical arsenal, she’d have pulled them out in a second.
“Mates, you’re rotten,” Mark said, shaking his head and allowing his hand to fall to his side.
“It’s about time you got here,” one of the figures in black took their helmet off, revealing Genni, the councilor from the hospital. “We need to figure out how much these things can handle.”
Ayden scowled. “We’ve got injurie
s in here! Why don’t you go play off the road?” He did not sound happy.
“Oh, relax,” Genni said, smiling. Lys wondered if that smile meant more than just hello—it sure looked like it. Especially from Ayden’s point of view. “We saw you coming up the road and we wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
Ayden didn’t reply.
She ignored his lack of vocalization, and waved her arm in front of the black suit she wore. “Can we keep Mark? We really want to test these things.”
“Sure.” Ayden shrugged. He put the van back in gear. “Keep him. If he’s up for it. Just get out of the road.”
“Thanks!” She grinned. Ayden gave a half wave.
Inez groaned from the back seat.
“Sorry about that,” Ayden said, moving the van forward once again. “Some of us are a little more rambunctious than others.”
Jodi turned around. “Inez, how is your arm feeling?”
“Ugh,” Inez said, rubbing her face with her hand. “My arm feels fine, but I think I might throw up.”
“Oh, no,” Brady said. “No cookie tossing in here.”
Lys tried desperately to get out of her magic. The fact that she hadn’t opened it in the first place, at least not consciously, made it harder to visualize a way to shut it off. As she searched, she noticed what Ayden had been talking about. He and the others were right—using magic felt good. She’d felt it a little before, but now the golden energy thrummed through her veins, pulsing and filling her with a sensation she’d never known. She couldn’t even compare it to satisfying the Need because it was different. Different as in kissing a boy she kind of liked versus the memory of Kamau’s lips brushing hers. To put it simply, this feeling was better. Better in every way imaginable.
And that made it difficult to want to break out of it. Mark said that as long as the magic didn’t back up that she’d be fine, right?
But despite her efforts to release the magic, Lys could feel the overload coming. Like too many sweets at Christmas, Lys knew that she couldn’t keep this up for long without suffering the consequences. Whatever they might be.
So she closed her eyes and tried to picture the board. Too much magic—she couldn’t make it work. Instead she focused the energy into a stream. When she had it all going in the same direction, she slammed a dam down in front of it.
Her body screamed for her to let it go while her mind reveled in how good using felt. However, just as she slammed the dam down, she had one last vision.
The perspective looked up, and settled on Doyle’s face. His eyes shot daggers and his jaw jut forward, teeth clamped shut. The view swiveled and Lys caught the reflection of the person whose eyes she was looking through.
Peter.
That wrenched her out of the magic, vomiting her back into the van just as it rolled to a stop.
She gasped, feeling as if she’d been physically struck. Peter. He wasn’t dead.
“Here we go,” Ayden said. “Home sweet home.”
Lys blinked, trying to clear her mind and vision.
“Come on,” Ayden said, throwing the van into park. “We’ll find you guys a place to stay.”
Lys found herself leaning forward with her face in her hands. Once again, her insides shook like she’d been out in the cold for too long.
“Are you okay?” Kamau asked.
“Yeah,” she said, looking up. She opened her mouth to tell him about Peter, but Kamau’s taunt, pale face stopped her.
The immediate thoughts of Peter fluttered away. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Brady and Inez climbed out of the back seat and exited the van.
“You sure?” Lys asked. She resisted the urge to put a hand on his cheek. “Are you crashing?”
Kamau shook his head. “I do not know.”
“Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand and leading him outside. “We’ll ask Ayden what to do.”
Kamau followed, and when the two of them stepped out of the van, Brady met them with an eye roll.
“Why don’t the two of you just get the snogging over with?”
“What?” Lys asked, confused.
Brady glanced over at Inez. “They’re killing me.”
Inez nodded. “Yeah, I can see it.”
Lys blinked. Had Inez just been nice to Brady? She tried to get Inez’s attention to tell her about Peter, but the other girl looked at Ayden, who gestured them forward.
She’d been expecting a compound of some sort, judging by the amount of people Ayden said would be there. Reality turned out to be a huge cabin and a separate three-car garage with a loft over it. Lys caught a glimpse of a handful of tents out behind the cabin.
“Come on,” she said, gently tugging Kamau forward. His unsteadiness unnerved her, but it also made her feel better—more normal. If normal could be applied to any part of this situation.
Inside the cabin made Lys feel claustrophobic. The large entry hall led into a gigantic great room. Sleeping bags covered half of the floor while all of the plush furniture had been pushed onto the other side. Eight or ten people lounged in the furniture, talking, and three of the sleeping bags were occupied. Although, with all of the noise, Lys didn’t know how anyone could sleep.
“Did you bring Mark back with you?” a woman—one of four on the couch—asked.
“He’s out playing,” Ayden said. “Genni and a couple of others are out there trying to figure out those black suits.”
The entire couch of women seemed very disappointed by Mark’s absence. Lys wondered if he knew he had a fan club.
“Oh, hey,” Ayden said, holding out a hand as a man with dark hair and caramel skin walked through the room. “Daya, this is Inez. She just arrived.”
The exotic looking man turned to smile at Inez. “Taste user?”
Inez nodded. “That’s what they say.”
Ayden pointed between them. “Inez, this is Daya. He’s our most experienced taste user. When you’ve had a chance to settle in you’ll need to find him. He can help you sort through how to use your magic.”
Lys wondered how much of Inez’s story Ayden knew. Had they talked when she passed out the first time?
Daya nodded. “I can see that you’re an adolescent, your eyes are still quite red.”
Inez nodded again, not saying anything.
“There are a few of us here. Once you get settled in just ask anyone where I am. We have a lot to talk about.” Daya continued to smile as he held out his hand.
“Thanks,” Inez mumbled, taking his hand and shaking it.
“Whew,” Brady said, putting his arm around Inez. “It’s been a long day; I bet you want to sit down.”
Lys had to stifle a laugh at the look of surprise on Inez’s face.
“I’ll let you get to it then.” Daya nodded and moved past them.
Ayden led them through the great room and to the left. “The kitchen is that way,” he said, pointing behind them. “And most of the girl’s bedrooms are this way and upstairs.”
“Where are the boys’?” Brady asked.
“Outside in the tents or over the garage.”
“Tents?” Brady asked.
Ayden shrugged. “Mason’s old-fashioned. He believes that the ladies need to be comfortable.”
Jodi, who stood just behind Lys, laughed. “He’s pretty smart, you know?”
“I guess,” Ayden grumbled. “Did you say that you had a couple of spots in with you and Genni?”
“Yeah, we’ve got a set of bunk beds that no one is using yet. Come on,” Jodi said, moving down a short hall that branched off the main one. “We’ve got some clothes in the closet that will probably fit you. You can shower and change. I’ll check on Inez’s arm again and finish with your leg.”
Kamau still looked shaky. Lys gave his hand a squeeze. “Ask Ayden about it.”
He nodded and tried to release her hand. Lys held on and looked into his eyes. “Promise me you will ask him about it.”
“I will,” he said i
n a tired voice.
Lys gave him her best mothering look as he slipped his hand out of her grasp and walked away.
Lys watched him go before she and Inez followed Jodi to their room. “Take either of those. That’s Genni’s bed.” She pointed.
Lys made a note of which bunks were hers and Inez’s. Maybe Jodi would leave them alone for a minute so Lys could tell Inez about Peter.
“Why don’t you both sit down?” She looked at Lys’s leg. Blood seeped from the gauze in a few places. “On second thought, why don’t you go shower first. Grab some clothes, get cleaned up, and come back here.”
“Sure,” Lys said, trying to catch Inez’s eye, but the other girl was looking out the window So Lys grabbed a pair of loose sweats and a t-shirt from the closet that should fit.
“Towels are in the closet next to the bathroom. Help yourself. Wrap your leg up in one after you’re finished.” Jodi pointed down the hall.
“Okay,” Lys said. She lingered in the doorway for a second, but Inez still didn’t look at her. Lys left, wondering when she would get a chance to tell Inez that Peter was alive.
Lys felt one hundred percent better after a shower. Allowing the water to cascade from the top of her head over her entire body and washing away through the drain left her feeling clean. Clean from running, almost dying, wading through storm drains, using magic, attacking Inez, losing Peter—everything washed away.
The magic called to her. It came from the tiniest corner of her mind and whispered for her to open up to it. Lys refused. She didn’t want to go anywhere near the magic again. Before, she hadn’t noticed either the high or the low, but that last time had been bad. Really bad. What Mark said about using magic feeling better than anything else was right. What Jodi said about the crash was right, too. Why did this happen? What was magic, anyway?
As she toweled off, trying not to get blood on the floor, Lys thought back to the first conversation they’d had about magic. It came from the world around them? Like the Force? Why would something natural be addictive? Would the world make magic addictive? If so, should humans even be using it?
A knock came at the door, interrupting Lys’s thoughts.