The guard blinked twice, then straightened and shoved the bag back toward Ava. “Enjoy your stay,” he said, stifling a yawn. “Next!”
They picked up their things, and Ava fought the urge to break into a run, instead matching Caleb’s easy gait.
“Well, that little trick certainly comes in handy,” she muttered as they approached a cab.
Caleb grinned, winking at her as he pulled open the door.
Fifteen minutes later, they stood waiting for the train to Winnipeg. From there they’d catch a bus into Ontario to Kenora, then north to the small town of Red Lake—about twenty miles from the Guardian Colony. Caleb told her the Colony would send someone to meet them there, since there was obviously no public transportation to a city in the middle of nowhere that didn’t actually exist.
Ava tried to smile at that, but she found she just couldn’t.
The e-mail from Bel had hit her hard. She was worried about Audrey and about the Guardians who’d been assigned to protect her at the safe house. Ava hoped that they’d been able to escape, but the fact that Audrey was out of contact made her sick to her stomach.
Reports of casualties.
First the Jordans—then Audrey and the others. The curl of guilt twisting in her stomach made her nauseous. The idea that these people had been hurt—maybe given their lives—just so she could be safe?
It was all too much.
She glanced at Caleb as he played with his phone, checking the train tracks every now and then. He was surveying the area and trying to look casual about it, but she knew he was nervous, as well. The two of them against the Council and all of their minions?
Ava was only beginning to understand the dangerous odds they faced.
And it could all still be for nothing. They had a long way to go before they got to the Colony—and who was to say they wouldn’t lead the Protectors there, as well? And what if something happened to Caleb?
Ava shivered. She couldn’t bear the thought.
She cleared her throat. “Any news?” she asked quietly.
Caleb shook his head. “Not from Bel . . . or Audrey. I got an encoded e-mail from the colony, though. Someone will meet us in Red Lake tomorrow.” He glanced up, his face softening at Ava’s tense expression.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly, taking her chilled hand in his warm one. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Ava smiled weakly. She had no doubt he would do whatever he could to keep his word. She was beginning to doubt, however, that he would survive the effort. So many had already suffered for her.
How many more would have to?
A gust of wind preceded the train pulling into the station, brakes screeching as it came to a standstill. Passengers piled off the opposite side of the platform, and Caleb squeezed her hand. She looked down at where their fingers linked, the familiar warmth of his palm comforting.
But she didn’t deserve comfort. Not when so many more were suffering.
The train doors opened, and Caleb stepped forward, looking back curiously when Ava didn’t move. “Ava?” he said. “Let’s go.”
She looked up at him, blinking back tears. “No,” she said.
“What?” He tugged on her hand. “Come on. We need to go.”
“I can’t, Caleb.” Ava pulled her hand free. “I can’t.”
Confusion turned to frustration on his face as he wrapped his fingers around her arm. “Now is not the time to break down, Ava,” he said gruffly. “Once we get to the Colony, you can freak out all you want to.”
“I’m not freaking out,” she argued, but Caleb just pulled her firmly along. “No, Caleb,” she said, tugging against him. “No!” she shouted. He stumbled back a step, and she realized she’d mentally pushed him away. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
His eyes widened. “What the hell is wrong with you?” he hissed, his gaze darting around the platform to make sure no one noticed their argument.
“I can’t do this,” she said, reaching for him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Caleb crossed his arms over his chest, face red with anger. “Well, what do you think you’re going to do instead?” he asked. “The Protectors are closing in. You think you can just go back to Allenmore? Hide out in your dorm room and they’ll leave you alone?”
“Of course not—”
“Because they won’t. They’ll hunt you down.”
“No.”
“They’ll do whatever they have to do to get to you.”
“They won’t have to.”
Caleb’s hands flew up, clenching in his hair as he heard the announcer call for them to board. “What are you talking about?” he asked. “Ava, we have to go. It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”
“But nobody else will be,” she said, pleading with him to understand. “They weren’t supposed to be able to track down the safe house, but they did.”
“We’ll figure it out—”
“And now people—more people—have been hurt because of me,” she continued. “They’ll follow us, Caleb. They’ll find a way. I can’t let anyone else be hurt . . .” She swallowed. “Killed trying to protect me.”
Caleb’s face softened. “It’s not your fault,” he said, reaching out tentatively, wrapping his fingers gently around her upper arms, and rubbing them soothingly up and down. “We all knew this would be dangerous when we went up against the Council.”
“I have to stop it,” she said stubbornly. “I have to do something.”
“What?” he asked. “What are you going to do?”
She looked away, swallowing away her nerves. “I want to go before the Council.”
Caleb’s mouth dropped open as the train doors slid shut. He stared at her for a long moment before startling, suddenly realizing the train was pulling out. “Perfect,” he muttered. “Now we’ll have to wait for the next one.” He glanced at her. “Unless . . . you could maybe pull it back for a second? So we could get on?”
Ava’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not listening to me.”
Caleb ignored her. “Or maybe we should try a bus . . . or renting a car—”
“Caleb—”
He grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the stairs. “We can’t hang around here like sitting ducks, so I’ll have to figure something out.”
“Caleb, damn it, don’t make me shove you again!” she snarled.
Caleb turned abruptly, his face a hard mask of anger. “Don’t you dare,” he growled. “You’ve barely accessed your ability, and you don’t have any decent control. There’s no way you’re ready to go before the Council. Don’t you realize it would be suicide?”
“Not necessarily,” she said stubbornly. “Maybe I can reason with them.”
“ ‘Reason with them,’ ” he said, wild-eyed and laughing humorlessly. “She’s going to reason with them. There is no reasoning with them, Ava.”
Ava glared at him. “Well, I have to try,” she said. “I’m going, Caleb. With or without you. I can’t let anyone else get hurt because of me. I won’t.”
Caleb glared right back. “And how exactly do you think you’re going to find them without me?” he asked.
“I’ll find a way. I’ll go back to the safe house. Or Allenmore. It’s only a matter of time before they find me, anyway.”
“Ahh!” Caleb exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air as he paced, stomping across the platform before turning back toward her. “You are the most stubborn, illogical—”
“Yeah, yeah,” she muttered, waving a hand. “So are you coming with me, or am I on my own?” As soon as she said it, she regretted it. “Maybe you shouldn’t come anyway,” she said, half to herself. “The Council’s after you, too, right? Maybe you should keep going to the Colony—”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Caleb snapped. “Of course I’m going with you.”
“I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Caleb headed for the stairs, fists clenched at his sides. After drawing a frustrated breath, he loosened h
is fingers and looked back expectantly. “If you think for one second you’re going there without me, you’re even more delusional than I thought.”
“I am not delusional,” Ava retorted as she rushed to catch up with him. “I’m only thinking of your safety.”
Caleb snorted. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”
“I know, but the Council—”
“Enough!” he yelled, quickly lowering his voice on a deep inhale. “I’ll make you a deal. I won’t try to talk you out of your incredibly stupid plan to confront the Council—”
“It’s not stupid.”
“If,” he said, holding up a finger, “you don’t try to talk me out of going with you.”
“But—”
“Ava!”
She frowned at him, then grunted in resignation. “Fine!”
Caleb rolled his eyes as they continued down the stairs. “Sheesh. You’d think someone would be more grateful to the person who was trying to save her life,” he muttered.
“Exactly,” Ava retorted, meeting his amused glance with a pointed raise of the eyebrow.
“Touché,” Caleb relented after a long moment. “Now come on, we need to find an isolated spot so we can shift.”
“Really?” Ava said, surprised. “I kind of thought you didn’t do that unless it’s an emergency.”
“I don’t, usually,” Caleb said, grabbing her hand and pulling her around behind the train station. “But if we’re going to do this, we might as well get to it. And this is the fastest way.”
He scanned the area, finally turning toward a set of empty rail cars about a hundred feet from the station. He and Ava walked across the crisscrossing tracks, their heels sliding on the loose gravel. Caleb peered into the last car in the line, and surveyed their surroundings quickly before lacing his fingers together.
“Come on, I’ll give you a boost,” he said. Ava stepped into his hands and climbed into the car, Caleb clambering in after her. He slid the door halfway shut so they could remain unobserved, but not be shrouded in darkness. “Let me have some cubes,” he said finally. “I’ll need all the help I can get.”
Ava handed him a handful, which he chewed thoughtfully as he peered around the door to keep watch. After a moment, he swallowed.
“Ready?” he asked, holding his arms open.
Ava moved into his tight embrace. “Ready,” she said.
Then the world swirled around them and disappeared.
Chapter 13
It was a bad idea.
It was a very bad idea.
As Caleb swallowed another handful of cubes with a gulp of water, waiting for the energy to kick in so they could shift again, he couldn’t help wondering what he was thinking.
What Ava was thinking.
He should just go. Shift her to the colony anyway. She wouldn’t know what he’d done until it was too late.
He sighed, taking another drink of water as he rested on a large boulder in the middle of a small, snow-covered meadow. He knew it wouldn’t do any good. She’d leave at the first opportunity. And the Guardians would let her go. There was no way they’d hold her against her will.
Even if it was for her own good.
Caleb’s eyes narrowed as he watched Ava wander around the meadow, stopping to pick a few branches laden with bright red berries. The girl was more stubborn than he’d anticipated. She just didn’t realize the danger she faced by doing what she was doing.
Tiernan was nothing compared to some of the Council’s more distasteful employees.
“How are you feeling?” Ava asked as she walked back towards him, twirling a stem between her fingers.
“I’m okay,” he said. “Give me another few minutes.”
Ava brushed off a fallen log and sat down in front of him, drawing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. She fiddled with the branch for a moment before looking up at him.
“So,” she said. “What can you tell me about this Council? I think it’s best to be prepared, don’t you?”
Caleb laughed, shaking his head. “I doubt anything could properly prepare you.”
She stared at him steadily. “Try me,” she said. “Give me the basics. How many Supermen are we talking here?”
“They’re not Supermen, Ava,” he said. “And not all of them are men, by the way.”
She raised a brow. “Super people then,” she said. “I stand corrected.”
“There are five senior members—two women and three men—as well as a dozen junior members, plus representatives from Race outposts around the globe,” he told her before taking another sip of water. “Not all of them will be in attendance, of course. The full Council only convenes on dire matters of Race security. You’ll probably have an informal hearing first, with just a few members.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. “Andreas has already expressed an interest in you, so he’ll most likely be there.”
“Andreas?”
“Andreas Petrov,” Caleb replied. “One of the senior members. He’s always been heavily involved with Half-Breed apprehension efforts.”
Ava snorted. “Nice.”
“Rafe might be there, too.” At her expectant look, he added, “An old friend of mine. He might be the only one on your side in all of this.”
“Well, that’s something,” she said flatly. “So, what exactly will they do?”
Caleb sighed heavily, capping the empty water bottle and slipping it back into his bag. “First, they’ll send you for a round of testing—medical, psychological, psychic—a lot depends on what that turns up.”
“Whether they think I’m a threat,” Ava said.
Caleb nodded. “And given what you can already do? I think that’s a very real possibility,” he said.
“Well,” Ava stood, dropping the berries and brushing off her jeans. “I’ll have to convince them otherwise.”
“Ava, listen,” Caleb said, standing and taking her hands in his. “I’m with you on this. You know that. I’ll stand by you no matter what.”
Ava smirked. “I sense a ‘but.’ ”
“But.” Caleb flashed her an amused grin, but it fell as he squeezed her hands gently. “I want you to think about what you’ll do if the Council doesn’t come around like you hope. We need to have an exit strategy.”
“You mean an escape plan.”
“Yeah,” Caleb said, rubbing a hand over her cheek tentatively. “If it comes down to it, you have to let me get you out of there.”
She closed her eyes, enjoying the touch more than she cared to admit. “But, we’d be running for the rest of our lives.”
“Better than the alternative.”
Ava took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “If it comes down to it, but it’s only a last resort. I know I can make them understand I’d never hurt the Race.”
Caleb smiled indulgently. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, I’ll figure something out—just in case.” He reached down for his bag, pulling it over his head and securing it across his chest. “You ready to go?”
“You understand, right?” Ava pressed, hitching up her own bag. “I don’t want to be running forever.”
He nudged her shoulder with his. “Not forever,” he said with a grin. “I’m sure they’d back off after a few decades . . . a century at most.”
Ava laughed. “Yeah, well, that’s as good as forever.”
Caleb looked down at her, frowning curiously.
“What?” she asked.
“I thought Audrey told you.”
“Told me what?”
“Uh . . .” Caleb stepped back, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck nervously. “About the aging thing?”
“What aging thing?” Ava glared in irritation. “You guys really need a better system or something. I’m tired of being left out of the loop.” At Caleb’s flush, she repeated, “What. Aging. Thing?”
“That we don’t, really. Well, not as quickly, at least.”
“What?” Ava gaped at him. “Wha
t in the world are you talking about? You’re not . . . are you saying you’re immortal?”
“No!” Caleb laughed. “Not immortal. We just have a life span that’s a little longer than ordinary humans.” He looked away, swallowing nervously.
“How much longer?”
“Umm . . . around five times?”
Ava’s eyes widened almost comically. “Five times?” Her mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out. “As in . . . like four hundred years?”
“Well, for some,” Caleb said uncomfortably. “Most live up to six hundred.”
She gaped at him, a little dizzy at the thought. “But . . . not me, right? I mean, even if I am a Half-Breed . . . I won’t . . . I can’t . . .” Her breaths quickened into harsh pants. It wasn’t that the idea of living longer was a bad thing, necessarily. It was just a lot to take in.
Six. Hundred. Years.
Holy. Crap.
“Hard to tell,” Caleb said. “The testing might help indicate what you’re looking at. Life-span wise, that is.”
“Oh, man,” Ava muttered. “I don’t feel so good.” She weaved on her feet, and Caleb reached out to hold her up, his arms encircling her tightly.
“Relax,” he said. “It’s not so bad.”
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Time to go,” he said cheerily. “Hold on tight.”
“Wait a minute,” she ordered. “So, exactly how old are you?”
Caleb flushed. “Uh . . . what is age really? It’s just a number.”
“Caleb . . .” She glared at him.
“I’m . . . uh . . . eighty-three—no—” He thought for a minute. “Eighty-four. Last May.”
“Eighty-four,” Ava repeated, feeling the blood rush from her face.
“Yeah, so . . . we really should go now,” he said, avoiding her gaze.
“We are so talking more about this,” she muttered, gripping the back of his coat as she looked up at him accusingly. “Anything else I should know about?”
Caleb shrugged. “Nothing that comes to mind.”
“Right,” she grumbled. “Why do I find that hard to believe?”
The MORE Trilogy Page 17