by KT Webb
He exchanged a look with Thatcher that told him they were both completely clueless. They waited for a few moments before realizing Nora would not be coming back to the dining room. Kerr stood and looked at Thatcher.
“Well, I don't know about you, but I want to find out what that was all about. Let's go, I'm sure if we wander around this place long enough we'll find someone.” Kerr motioned for Thatcher to follow him, and the two made their way back into the foyer.
Coming face to face with Tahlia, he saw the strain in her face, and knew the time she spent with her daughters hadn't exactly gone the way she'd hoped. Kerr gave her a sympathetic shrug and filled her in on what they overheard from Nora's phone conversation.
“That seems odd. If she asked for the key phrase it must be one of our scouts. I thought they were all on standby. We have all five of you,” Tahlia said, and turned down the hallway toward the library.
Thatcher and Kerr followed her, and entered a room smelling of old paper. Kerr looked around, trying to avoid the eyes of the man he'd offended. Dorian and Romulus sat across from each other in oversized brown chairs. Romulus looked at Kerr with hurt in his eyes, and quickly looked away.
Kerr didn't know what to do, so he walked up to Romulus and said the first thing that came to mind. “Look, I'm sorry I said what I did. All I know is the vague story Dorian told us. I shouldn't have been so quick to judge you.”
Romulus nodded, looking directly into Kerr's eyes. Instantly, a flash filled his mind. Scenes from Romulus' life filled his head in rapid fire. He saw the good Romulus had done in his long life. He saw him watching over boys and men who all held a strong resemblance to them both. The final scene that flashed through his mind was the face of a beautiful woman with flowing black hair, dark brown eyes that were almost black, and a heart-shaped face. Her face was filled with love, joy, then pain and anguish, and finally, her eyes were closed, her face a mask of death.
“Oh God,” Kerr said. “I saw her. I just saw her, she was beautiful.”
“I know. Her name was Anu,” Romulus choked out. “You have her hair and my eyes. She died giving life to our son, Keiran. You could have been his twin.”
A moment passed between them, and Kerr knew he had found the only man he would ever respect as much as his father.
The others had been quiet up until this moment, but Tahlia had to tell Dorian what Kerr and Thatcher overheard.
Romulus looked at Tahlia as though he didn't understand her. “Where is Nora? Did you see where she went?”
“No, she just left the kitchen and didn't say a word to us,” Thatcher said.
“I'm here.” Nora's voice rang out behind them.
When they turned and saw her dressed in comfortable traveling clothes and carrying a duffel bag, they knew something serious was going on.
“There is another. Brett, the scout, called to tell us he discovered another Evolved. All the prophecies said there would be five, but somehow another of us has survived. His name is Malcolm.” She still seemed to be in a state of shock.
“What prophecies?” Kerr asked, feeling out of the loop again.
“We can cover that later. Right now, we need to get to this Malcolm. Did he say whose he is?” Dorian asked with concern in his face.
“That's the worst part. He is descended from Absalom.” Nora's face reflected the fear that rippled through the group.
“How did Absalom miss one? Where is he?” Tahlia asked with a strained voice.
“He's in Newall. We need to go, now. We can't let him get to this one.” Nora turned and headed down the hall. It only took a moment for everyone to jump to their feet and follow her.
Chapter Ten:
Whitley
Their father was not pleased. In fact, he decided to show his displeasure by hopping on his private jet and flying home. Whitley knew it would still be hours before he arrived, but her stomach was in knots at the thought of a family reunion.
“It will be okay, I promise. Dad will make a big deal out of this whole thing, but you know it's next to impossible to stuff a cat back in a bag without causing serious personal injuries.” Hadley smiled wryly.
“But we are minors, he could forbid us to see mom. Even though she's been absent for most of our lives, I think this whole Evolved thing is going to make her a hot commodity in our lives now,” Whitley responded.
Whitley took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Their dad wasn't going to take this lightly, and she knew he would try to keep them from the new world they'd discovered. Whitley and Hadley knew they had to do everything in their power to get him to cooperate. The room had grown steadily warmer, and one glance at the vacant fireplace told Whitley the source of the temperature spike was sitting on the couch with her.
“Would you knock it off? I'm frying in here!” Whitley threw a pillow accusingly at her sister.
“Sorry, I'm just so nervous. Hold on.” Hadley closed her eyes and attempted to meditate, but soon began giggling uncontrollably.
The girls fell into fits of giggles, and were startled when the door to the den opened and they found themselves face to face with the rest of the Evolved and Old Immortals.
Everyone stared at each other blankly for a few moments before Hadley and Whitley began giggling again, and it only got worse when Hadley laughed so hard she fell off the couch.
“Well, I can tell they're going to be useless on this mission.” Nora rolled her eyes.
“Mission?” Whitley managed to say through the case of hiccups she'd developed.
“A scout called. They've found another Evolved. We need to get him before Silas finds him,” Dorian said.
“Another Evolved? How?” Whitley asked.
Dorian shook his head and looked troubled.
“We need to figure something out fast. If our scout spotted this boy, it’s only a matter of time before Absalom locates him,” Tahlia said.
“I thought Absalom did the fire thing like me,” Thatcher said.
“He does, but we all have many aspects to our abilities. Fire is his main ability, but he can also defy gravity. Remember, as he has also killed countless descendants of the Old Immortals, he has absorbed power. Because you and Malcolm are his last descendants, you share all his powers. Eventually, when we destroy him, his living descendants will inherit the abilities he has collected. Absalom has many abilities. We don’t even know what all he is capable of, which is part of what makes him so dangerous. Silas has been his sidekick through it all, but Absalom has been careful to ensure he is less powerful and therefore submissive,” Dorian answered.
“This guy is twisted,” Thatcher said, shaking his head.
They discussed the plan and decided it would be less intimidating for Malcolm if only a few of them went. The small group would travel to the nearby town Newall to pick him up. They needed to be quick, but it was a sensitive mission.
Nora had already decided she was going, and she asked that Romulus and Whitley accompany her.
Whitley wasn’t sure why she was asked to go along. She didn’t even know how to control her power. What if she blew the kid up? She laughed in spite of the serious situation, because this morning her biggest worry had been whether or not to flirt with the coffee shop guy. It was funny how much life could change in only a few hours.
Once Nora and Romulus had everything they needed, Whitley followed them to the garage and got into a black Range Rover. Romulus was in the driver’s seat, and Nora gave Whitley shotgun. They drove in silence for a few minutes before Nora cleared her throat, indicating she had something to say.
“So, Whitley, how are you and Hadley feeling?” she asked carefully.
Whitley considered her answer carefully. “I think we're okay. It's a lot to take in, and I think it will be a long time before we're able to have even a semi-normal relationship with our mom.”
“I know it’s not really my place to say anything, but she really missed you. She's talked about you every day since I met her, and that was twelve years ago,” Nor
a said.
“I believe it. We were so confused when mom left. We knew how much she loved us. We kept thinking we were in trouble and did something wrong to make her leave. Over the years, we learned to live without her. It's going to be an adjustment having two parents again.” Whitley gave a small smile to Nora and Romulus.
Whitley wasn't sure what to make of Nora yet. She seemed sweet enough, but Whitley couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy knowing that Nora had gotten to spend so many years with her mother. They drove in silence, and Whitley was left to think about the insane events of the day. Just this morning her biggest problem was trying to figure out which shoes to wear with her outfit. Shaking her head, she turned to look out the window in time to see the sign welcoming them to Newall.
“He's thirteen. The scout said he usually hangs out at the skate park by Newall Central High School. He saw him there right before he called us.” Nora's tone was all business.
Romulus pulled into a parking spot and turned off the Range Rover. He turned in his seat so he could see both Nora and Whitley.
“Now this kid doesn't know what's coming. As far as we know, he hasn't even started to control his abilities. The only reason the scout recognized him as one of the Evolved is because he fell off his skate board and scared himself when he realized he was hovering inches above the ground. His abilities indicate that he belongs to Absalom, so we need to hurry. It's only a matter of time before Absalom realizes he missed another one.” Romulus studied them carefully, before continuing, “We need to be careful not to scare him off. He doesn't know it yet, but he needs our protection. Dorian did a good job of using the most basic of his abilities to draw you all to us, so we need to do our best not to send him running in the other direction.”
Nora nodded, and Whitley contemplated what she'd just heard. Dorian drew them here? She thought back to a book she read about a girl who was in thrall to a warlock, and she wondered if they were all somehow in thrall to Dorian. Whitley shuddered and pushed the thought from her mind. She was drawn back to reality by the doors opening.
Whitley hopped out and followed Nora and Romulus up the slope that led them to the skate park. They stood together at the top of the hill and surveyed the area. In front of them was an open paved park with benches and trees spread throughout. All around the other edges were railings and stairs that gave the park a street appeal. A section to the left held a large oval bowl and two smaller, irregularly-shaped bowls. Whitley saw a group of boys going up and down a series of banks down the middle that led directly into a quarter pipe on either end.
Some commotion was coming from the other side of the park, to the right. The small group exchanged glances and headed in that direction. The half pipe was surrounded by skaters of all ages. It was clear they were preparing themselves for a show. Romulus shot Nora a meaningful look, and she nodded her head in response. Whitley felt Romulus take her elbow and steer her a few feet away.
“I need you to focus, because Nora is going to use her main ability now. You need to remember where you are and what you're looking at,” Romulus whispered.
Whitley gave him a skeptical look, but nodded her head. She looked at the crowd again. Nora had weaved her way into the middle and stood with her eyes closed. Suddenly, the crowd began to act confused. They looked around like they didn't know where they were. Whitley lost focus for a moment and caught a glimpse of the skate park in a rain storm. She even felt the rain hitting her skin. Just as she reached up to see if her hair was wet, she felt Romulus grasp her arm again. She instantly saw the park as it had been before the rain, but the crowd had dispersed.
“What just happened?” she asked Romulus, unable to hide the shock in her voice.
“Nora can mess with your senses—make you see, feel, hear, taste things that aren't there,” Romulus said with a smile. “Pretty cool, huh?”
Whitley was growing to like Romulus more every minute. He was like a big kid. After the crowd dispersed, only one person remained. He had been standing at the foot of the half pipe and seemed to be the reason for the gathering crowd.
They came closer to the boy and found Nora already talking to him.
“Hi, you must be Malcolm,” Nora said cheerily.
“Yeah. Who are you?” Malcolm asked warily.
“My name is Nora. I heard you could do some pretty neat tricks on that skateboard,” Nora answered, then leaned in and said, “I can do some pretty neat tricks too.”
“Really? Do you skateboard?” Malcolm rolled his eyes.
“Well, no. But if you close your eyes and concentrate, you'll find that it was never raining at all. I only made everyone think it was.” Nora smiled.
Malcolm looked unsure, but tried anyway. He was thirteen. Whitley knew from experience that thirteen year old boys were gullible and willing to try anything, no matter how stupid it made them look.
When Malcolm opened his eyes, he looked around with wide eyes. Whitley knew the approach Nora took probably just won them the only chance they had to get Malcolm to come along.
Chapter Eleven:
Malcolm
Malcolm stood in the skate park, watching the people who had just approached. He listened to what the girl, who called herself Nora, had to say. He knew she was telling the truth, but he had to pretend he was clueless.
Malcolm knew all about these people. His whole life had prepared him for this moment. He had to pretend to be the innocent boy they thought he was, otherwise, the whole plan would fall through.
He knew he would go with them. He’d always known he would. His Uncle Abe had been preparing him for this meeting for his whole life.
From listening to the conversation, he learned that the big guy was Romulus, and the other girl was Whitley. He knew who Romulus was from the stories he’d been told. He tried to pay attention to their conversation, but he was trying to figure out who Whitley was. She must be an Evolved, but she had to be one Absalom didn’t know about. He knew all about Nora, Thatcher, and Kerr from the surveillance pictures Absalom’s people had taken.
Malcolm heard them mention how to tell his parents he had to go with them. He had gone through life with his Uncle Abe dragging him from town to town. His parents were dead. He knew how, he knew why, and most importantly, he knew who was responsible.
“Guys, it won't be hard to convince my Uncle that I'm going off to camp or something. He doesn't know or care what I do most of the time,” Malcolm said, pulling out his cell phone.
He sent a text to Uncle Abe and waited only a few minutes before he received a response that simply said, “K.” Malcolm shrugged and told them it was okay for him to go.
Romulus looked troubled by the lack of concern his guardian showed him and exchanged a worried look with the girls. Everything was falling into place. Malcolm smiled sadly at them, then looked away, hoping he looked like a neglected child.
“Really, guys, it's no big deal. It's been like this forever,” Malcolm said convincingly, and was pleased when he saw them looking at him with pity.
Nora and Romulus led the way to their vehicle, leaving Whitley to hang behind and walk with him. She seemed nice, but he could tell she was uncomfortable.
“So, how old are you?” Whitley asked conversationally.
“Almost fourteen. My birthday is next week,” he responded, trying to sound grown up.
“I just found out about all this too, so I know how you feel right now.” Whitley patted him on the shoulder.
“Oh yeah, what's your super power? Can you leap tall buildings in a single bound? Stop a train?” Malcolm said, only half joking. He hadn't been told what abilities the others had.
Whitley smiled and took a few minutes to respond.
“You don't have to tell me, it's cool,” he said, feeling frustration well up inside him.
“No, it's not that, I just don't really know how to explain it. I don't even know how to do it. My abilities started emerging this morning. I blew up all the lights in a book store,” Whitley said, sounding con
fused.
“You can blow stuff up? That's way cooler than flying!” Malcolm felt himself getting excited about the others abilities. Uncle Abe had told him how to obtain the abilities of others.
“Well, I don’t really know if I can blow stuff up. I think I can mess with energy and matter. At least that’s what Dorian and my mom told me. You’ll meet them too,” Whitley responded.
“Wicked! I don’t really know what all this is. Do you think it’s like super hero stuff?” Malcolm said, trying to sound like a normal thirteen year old.
Whitley laughed and told him she didn’t think so. Under normal circumstances, Malcolm might have liked Whitley. She was pretty, and her round face broke into a wide smile easily. She was so new to the Evolved that maybe she wasn’t like the others. Malcolm toyed with the idea of telling Whitley that she should go with him to help his uncle, but he already knew that was too big of a risk. Maybe she was playing dumb just like he was.
“So you just found out about this today, but you’re here picking me up? That has to be weird, right?” Malcolm asked, trying to get more information about her.
“Yes, actually. This morning my sister and I were just normal teenagers in a small town book store. Everything changed rather quickly, and so much has happened in the last eight hours that I’m still reeling,” Whitley admitted.
“You have a sister?” Malcolm didn’t think any of the Evolved had family left that could tie them to their ancestors. If Whitley had abilities, wouldn’t her sister have them too?
“Mmhmm. My sister is back at the house. I guess she can do stuff to the weather. I haven’t really gotten to see that yet though,” she replied.
“Cool. I don’t have any siblings. My parents are dead, so my uncle is the only person I really know. Well, I have another uncle too, but he isn’t around as much. My aunt died a while ago, so he’s been pretty upset,” he said, hoping that didn’t give too much away.