Curses, Fates & Soul Mates

by et al Kristie Cook

  “N-n-n-no clear-r-r-r-ance for key.”

  “How, then?”

  “Freeze and s-s-s-strength together. Still a…prototype.”

  I’d guessed right. No wonder they knocked me out every time I turned on the cold. They’d only told me my strength couldn’t get through them. Steel can’t stop cold and strength. If it was steel. Or maybe metal in general. Too bad I didn’t pay more attention in school.

  While I held the nurse with one hand, I curled my fingers forward and touched the metal clamp around my wrist. Freeze and tug, freeze and tug.

  Distant voices silenced me. I glared at the nurse and cooled her more, silently telling her to not say a word. The sounds faded, and I went to work.

  An alarm blared. The nurse shivered from the frost creeping up her arm.

  “Code Blue,” rattled the speakers above me.

  Yeah, blue. For ice maybe? The woman collapsed. Probably hypothermia. I yanked my arm as hard as I could, and the metal snapped.

  Time to multi-task. I touched the clamp pinning my left hand to the bed, then shot ice from my free hand to the restraints around my ankles.

  The blaring alarm echoed in my brain. They probably had heat sensors in my room. Sometimes I was dumber than a box of rocks. At least I’d found out Zach and Scott were safe, so now I could do some serious damage to this place on my way out. Hopefully, my powers would cooperate.

  But if how I handled that nurse was any indication, my powers might be working more with me than against me now. That thought both encouraged me and freaked me out. I didn’t know how long I’d been here or what they’d done to me. What if they manipulated my powers or…no I needed to focus on getting the hell out of here.

  Voices in the hallway grew louder. They were coming here to stab me with more needles or darts, no doubt. I intensified my ice, then kicked my legs free. Frost clouded the window and glistened on the bars. I leapt off my bed and slammed the door to the room shut.

  Shit. No locks.

  I stepped back and sprayed the door. Within seconds, an ice block a foot-thick barricaded the door. No one would get through that sucker.

  Well, unless they had someone like Georgia to melt it.

  Crap. Maybe they did.

  With one hand still shooting ice at the door, I lifted the other to the window and sprayed streams of slush. I wasn’t one to pray, but I blurted out a plea anyway, “God, please help me.”

  I stopped the flow and checked things out. It looked like an igloo in front of the door. Pounding vibrated through the thick block. I might have heard someone cussing.

  I curled my fingers around the bars protecting the windowpane and pulled. Cement crackled, but the bolts securing the metal bars cracked off. Steadying myself with a step, I tossed the steel trap to the side. Hopefully, the frost on the windows made it brittle enough to break through.

  I kicked. Didn’t even budge, but it sure stung my bare feet.

  I froze my fist and started hammering the stubborn glass. “Come on!”

  Finally it cracked. That was all the encouragement I needed. I called another layer of ice on my fist, and with every bit of strength I had, gave the window one last beating.

  Ice and glass sprayed over me as I fell to the side. Hot pain seared my calf. I hobbled up and stepped toward freedom. Damn, a shard of glass stuck out of my leg.

  I fisted the object protruding from my skin and pulled. I couldn’t hold the scream back. Sizzling heat shot up to my thigh and a wave of nausea toiled in my stomach.

  No time to heal though. I had to get out of here.

  The unconscious—or dead—nurse lay on the floor. A twinge of guilt crowded my heart.

  No! I had to do it. I refused to stay here and be a pincushion for the rest of my life. I glanced through the hole I’d made. The moon spilled a spotlight on the grounds. Lamps lined a paved path. Guards would probably come soon. They had to have heard me kick through the window, and then there was the ear-piercing alarm sounding.

  I crawled through the small space and stepped onto the ledge. Cold cement chilled my bare feet. Acidic wind morphed my hair into whips, lashing at my eyes.

  Two stories. Sure looked further than I thought it would. Soft snow streamed from my open palms to the ground below.

  And I jumped.

  A cool draft ripped through my flimsy hospital garb as I fell through the air. Thankfully I landed on my feet, but my injured leg caved on impact, and I went rolling. Rocks and twigs embedded into my bare arms, sending tendrils of pain over my shoulder and to the base of my neck.

  Get up, Mandy. Get up.

  I pushed myself to my feet. A massive building loomed behind me, and a grove of trees lay ahead of me.

  “Now what?” I whispered.

  I took off in an awkward hobble-sprint across the yard. Distant growls kick started me into a full-on sprint.

  Crap, I hated dogs.

  I kept up my blundering run into the pine trees. But by the time I breached the trees, I had to stop and catch my breath.

  The building lit up. Spotlights flashed over the grounds. The rhythmic chop of helicopter blades sliced through the air.

  Are you kidding me? A helicopter? Definitely didn’t have time for a healing cocoon of ice.

  The thought of wandering aimlessly around the desert, or the woods, or whatever lay beyond the trees freaked me out. I’d be an easy target. But they’d find me if I stayed in these woods long. Especially with dogs tracking my scent. Blood oozed from my cut feet and sliced calf, which didn’t help things.

  “What do I do?” Tears stung at my eyes as panic started to take control no matter how much I worked to stamp it down.

  Snarls and clanging chains ripped me out of my indecision. I turned and sprinted, whispering silent prayers the entire time. I wasn’t so sure it’d make a difference since God and me hadn’t been on speaking terms much since Mom and Dad died. But it didn’t hurt to try.

  My foot caught a root and hurled me forward. Branches snapped as my palms met the ground. I managed to roll over every sharp rock in the entire forest.

  Someone whisper-yelled my name.

  I stilled my movements and held my breath.

  “Mandy?” It came again, stronger this time.

  I didn’t recognize—wait, yes I did. “Jasmine?”

  The leaves around me whirled, and the next second, the tiny brunette stood over me.

  I scooted back, but she reached toward me. “I think it’s time to get out of here!”

  “Get away from me. You—they—your hide out!” I couldn’t spit the words out my mind was spinning so fast.

  Jasmine froze, her eyebrow quirked over her left eye.

  “Where’s Zach? Scott and Georgia?” I gulped down my nerves.

  “Your brother and sister are waiting for me by the car. Zach’s fine back at the hotel. Come on. We have to go. Right now.”

  “Take me to them.” I’d confront her betrayal once I saw Scott and Georgia.

  With the effort of lifting a baby, she hoisted me into her arms, then took off running. Good thing I wasn’t one to get carsick, because it felt like she sped me down the autobahn. After only a few seconds, the human speedster put on the brakes, and my body rammed against her iron-like arms. She plopped me to my feet.

  Shaky legs held me up on the gravel shoulder of a single-lane road, flanked by darkness on one side and a rocky cliff on the other.

  Scott and Georgia paced next to a car I didn’t recognize.

  “Mandy!” As Georgia ran to me her skin glowed pink, and her neon-nails flickered.

  She pulled me into her warm arms. The heat felt so good through my wafer-thin hospital clothes. I squeezed her until she grunted.

  “Hey. I’m not super strong, sis.”

  “Sorry.” I loosened my grip but didn’t release her. “How’d you find me?” I whispered into her ear.

  “Jess and Jasmine. They worked some computer magic.”

  “Jasmine?”

  “Yeah, hon.” Geor
gia rubbed my back.

  “She didn’t…turn me over to them?”

  Georgia leaned back and gave me a wide-eyed stare. “What? No.”

  “How long have I been gone?” I sagged to the ground. Despite my strength, I had nothing left to hold me up, and my calf throbbed.

  “A week, Mandy.” Scott knelt beside me. “Longest week of my life.”

  My head felt detached, like a balloon. A whole week?

  “What’d they do to you?” he asked.

  “Not now. I ran you quite a distance from the compound, but I don’t want to risk it,” Jasmine chimed in. “Let’s go.”

  “Scott.” I pulled him close and whispered, “Is Jasmine with us? Or is she a Coat?”

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Scott brushed my tangled hair out of my face. “She didn’t betray us. We’re safe. Come on.”

  “Where’s Zach? The woman said they let him go.”

  “At our hotel. Once Jess and Jas located you, he insisted on coming, but we made him stay in the hotel while we went hunting for you.”

  “Get up,” Jasmine said.

  “Oh, Mandy, your leg.” Georgia gasped.

  The cut was deeper than I’d thought now that I could see it better through the ripped fabric. Blood gushed, staining my pants dark crimson.

  For the second time, Jasmine hoisted me into her arms. She carried me to the car, but I was glad. Fatigue weighed me down. I didn’t want to walk anywhere.

  “Just get me somewhere I can heal. Then we’re going to figure out a way to trash this place for good.”

  CHAPTER 34

  The car jostled, and my head slipped from Georgia’s shoulder, waking me from my comfortable stupor. The hotel stood several stories tall. Two valets, hands clasped behind their backs, stood like statues outside the main doors, watching our car.

  “Kind of posh, isn’t it?” Wouldn’t they have wanted to lay low, like in the movies? Hide out in the dumpy hotels. Use cash. Things like that?

  “You like?” Jasmine glanced into the backseat at us.

  Georgia pulled off her sweatshirt and handed it to me, then dug out some sweats from a bag near her feet. “Here, put these on. You’re all bloody.”

  I wiggled out of the nasty hospital pants, glad to shed that hideous color.

  Every bone ached. The cuts on my palms stung, and my leg throbbed. It wouldn’t be long before the blood from my injuries soaked through the light-colored sweatpants.

  “I could speed her in, no one will see her. It’s almost one in the morning.” Jasmine nodded, answering her own question.

  “No. No powers.” I wanted to see Zach so badly I could have screamed, but we needed to keep from drawing attention. Be human.

  I limped through the bright lobby. Georgia’s Skechers squeaked on the marble floor. Every shadow and every corner held my attention. I thought for sure someone would jump out and grab me. Or all of us.

  Georgia waggled my hand. She hadn’t let it go since we left the car. Totally okay with me. I hated being separated from her. It was true what they said about twins. We were connected on a different level than normal siblings.

  I had no doubt that our connection brought us together, and I even guessed it helped me get more control of my powers a little, too. Finally together. Complete. Then again, I was exhausted, hungry and seriously hurting, maybe my mind was just running with random ideas.

  “How’d you guys avoid getting nailed at the house?” I asked, as we made our way into the elevator.

  Jasmine whipped out the plastic key for the VIP floor and with a chime, the doors slid shut. “An Agent tripped one of my perimeter traps. I always have escape routes, but you two were already down on the porch. Not too bright sneaking out for a little lip-action, Mandy.”

  My cheeks burned. “You said the place was safe. I thought that might have included the porch, too.”

  The elevator slowed its ascent, and the golden doors glided open. Jasmine darted out and paused in front of a door about seven down. It swung open and Zach filled the doorframe. Instantly my eyes burned, and the breath whooshed out of my lungs.

  I leapt at him and pulled him close. He grunted.

  “What?”

  “Broken ribs,” he whispered, but didn’t release his grip around me.

  “How?” I asked into his hair. He smelled like soap and fresh scented dryer sheets.

  “Doesn’t matter.” His fingers grazed my neck. “Are you okay, Mandy?”

  “I am now.” I pulled my head from his neck. Purple bruises littered his face. “What the—”

  “Get in the room,” Scott ordered.

  I released my grip around Zach and hobbled in.

  The king-sized bed, covered in a thick, light-colored comforter, called out to me. But before I could sink into its softness, Zach swept me into his arms again.

  He kissed my cheek, my neck, then nuzzled my hair. “I love you, Mandy.”

  We both melted to the floor so we were on our knees, holding each other.

  The three words. No guy, besides my dad and my brother, had ever said those words to me. Until now. Even after the hell I’d put Zach through.

  He was sore. Had broken bones. Had been worried about me for the last seven days. And yet, he loved me.

  I cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss. I’d missed those lips. His smile. His touch. My hands cooled around his scratched face, and he flinched.

  “It’s okay,” I whispered into his mouth. “Trust me.” He hugged me tighter and took the kiss deeper.

  Shuffling and muffled voices surrounded me, but I didn’t care. They could watch all they wanted. I was going to take care of my Zach. I didn’t say the words to him, but I loved him, too. And like my mom, I healed the ones I loved.

  Especially if they were hurt because of me.

  “Mandy?” Georgia whispered.

  “Let her be. She’s healing him,” Jasmine said. “Come on. Let’s give them some privacy.”

  I pressed my forehead against Zach’s neck. The cold crept up my arms, locking them around him. I dared to crack open my eyelids to see through the cocoon of ice. Shifting shades of brown, red and gold danced in my vision. Reminded me of a kaleidoscope I once had.

  “Feels nice,” Zach whispered.

  “Hmmm,” I sighed, turning my full attention to him.

  Less than an inch separated me from his face, so I could see every bit of silver in his slate eyes. I’d never noticed the subtle flecks of gold before.

  Crackles from the ice forming around us rang in my ears. It clung to my skin, healing every cut and scrape. Frost crept over Zach’s face, and he closed his eyes.

  Slowly, the splotches of purple around his eye faded. My aches and pains dissipated as I relaxed against him.

  I’d lost count of how many times I’d fallen while running through the woods. And then the window. The ice and glass grazed my skin when I jumped through.

  Plumes of white streamed from my mouth. A tingling wave of cool air refreshed my lungs, easing the aches inside me.

  The burning pain in my leg fizzled. The cold tugged at my skin as it started to recede.

  Still on our knees, we held each other. His arms around my waist, mine around his neck. I loosened my hold, but he pulled me close again.

  His cool breath brushed my cheek. “Don’t ever worry me like that again.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered. “How do you feel?”

  “Perfect.” He kissed my lips, then leaned back. Ice tipped the ends of his eyelashes. Even though my arms were no longer ice-locked around him, I didn’t let go.

  I never wanted to let go.

  “I love you, Mandy.” He curled his arm around my waist and leaned back, resting against the bed. I shifted and sat astride him, and he let out a long sigh.

  Everything else faded away. No more hunger or fatigue. All that mattered was Zach and getting closer to him, touching him. Maybe it was a result of my healing him, but whatever it was, it urged me forward.

  I bur
ied my hands in his hair and tilted his head back as I took command of his mouth. His hand scooted over my hip and up the back of my shirt. The contact his fingers made with my skin flipped a switch in me. Thankfully not a cold one, but a raging hot one.

  “Bed,” I whispered against his mouth.

  He tightened his hold on me, shifted to the side, then stood, taking me with him. God, I’d never realized how strong he was. And right now, I was really thankful for it.

  He settled me onto the bed and tented me with his body. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his cast. “Your arm. You okay? We can stop if—”

  “I think you healed it. Doesn’t hurt at all.” He grazed up my neck, and that sent a shiver down my spine that—for once—wasn’t because of my powers.

  I reached over his shoulder, fisted his shirt, then yanked it over his head. He smiled and shifted, throwing the fabric to the side. Chocolate hair fell forward, framing his face and I reached for him.

  He deflected my hand and propped it to the bed. “My turn.” He straddled me and worked my shirt up excruciatingly slow. Finally he cradled my neck and guided me up to pull the shirt over my head.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered as he scanned a critical eye over me.

  I clasped my fingers around his neck and yanked him down. That mouth needed tasting again. Big time. A few slick movements and my hips cradled him.

  His hand worked between us, teasing and caressing my body as he moved against me. Such a fascinating and dizzying rhythm.

  I couldn’t help but spin right off the cliff into bliss with him.

  Tomorrow I’d worry about formulating a plan to take The Center and everyone in it down.

  CHAPTER 35

  “They didn’t feed you there, did they?” Georgia asked.

  I shoveled the last bite of my third pancake into my mouth. “Don’t think so. I was drugged a lot. Don’t remember much other than everyone seemed kind of scared of me.”

  I clanked my fork on the plate and glanced around. Sunlight spilled through the open window onto the massive bed. My laptop sat on the small table in the corner of the room, streaming songs from my “FAVES” list on iTunes. A silver cart, next to our makeshift kitchen table, overflowed with food. Georgia must have ordered the entire breakfast menu.