The MORE Trilogy

by T. M. Franklin

  Tiernan took a step forward, half blocking Ava and Emma. “We’re looking for Caleb Foster.”

  The woman narrowed her eyes on him. “I know you. You’re a Protector.” She pointed her gun at Tiernan’s head. “It’s the Council!” she told the others, eliciting a rumble of outrage . . . or perhaps concern. “Get on your knees.” She gestured with the tip of her weapon. “And don’t try any of your tricks. We have a dampener.”

  Tiernan dropped slowly to his knees as a man with shaggy dark hair stepped forward and eyed Ava curiously, his head tipped a little to the left. He continued to stare, and she got a strange, prickling sensation down her back, followed by a kind of constricting feeling, like being wrapped in a blanket. She almost felt like she couldn’t move and was surprised to find she could actually wiggle her fingers.

  “Strange feeling, isn’t it?” The blond woman said with a wry smirk. “Being cut off from your gift like that?”

  The dark-haired man continued to stare, his black eyes piercing—as though he could see through her.

  It reminded Ava of when Caleb tried to blur her memories back when she first started to suspect he wasn’t quite what he seemed, and with a stunned realization, she reached for her gift. It was still there, she noted with relief, flickering around her consciousness, but . . . distant, almost. She called to it, felt it well up a bit, fighting against the dampener.

  His black gaze narrowed as he focused and drove Ava’s gift back down.

  “I think I can stop him,” Emma said under her breath, her fingers brushing against Ava’s.

  Ava stopped fighting him and reached back to squeeze Emma’s hand in reassurance. She had a feeling she could stop him as well, but that wasn’t their purpose at that moment.

  “Look,” she said, addressing the blond woman she assumed was in command. “We’re not here for the Council. We’re here to warn you.”

  “Warn us about what?”

  “It’s complicated,” Ava said. “But you—the whole Colony—could be in danger. We have to know if Caleb’s been here.”

  “What do you know of Caleb?”

  An older man standing at the back of the group stepped forward, and Ava noticed the blonde moved back a little deferentially. The man didn’t carry a gun and stood loose-limbed at the front of the group as though he knew they weren’t a threat. He was tall, a bit broad in the shoulders, but lean in a way that Ava found vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t decide why. His dark hair was cut close to his head on the sides, a little longer on top, his green eyes knowing and intent.

  “He’s my . . . friend,” Ava responded after clearing her throat nervously. “But something’s happened to him.”

  The man took another step forward, darkness falling over his features as his jaw tensed. “What’s happened to him?”

  Ava cast a weary glance at Tiernan, who shrugged in response. She turned back to the man and cleared her throat. “He’s been manipulated. The Council believes he’s working with the Rogues.”

  “Impossible!” In a flash, he was hovering over her, an angry snarl twisting his lips, and Ava could feel the edge of a blade at her throat, the rough bark of a tree pressed all along her back.

  She gasped, disoriented for a moment as he twisted the blade, pricking her skin just shy of drawing blood.

  Tiernan started to get up, but he was shoved back to his knees by two men and the woman she’d assumed was the leader, their guns pointed directly at his head.

  Emma whimpered, and Ava could feel the girl’s power—feel her wanting to fight back.

  “No,” she whispered, locking eyes with the girl over her captor’s shoulder. “Emma, no.”

  The power receded, tendrils stroking her skin as it departed.

  The man pressed the knife more firmly against her skin, his words forced out through clenched teeth. “Now tell me who you really are.”

  “Maybe pull that thing back a little so I can talk without you slicing my throat?” Ava barely dared to move her lips.

  With a quiet grunt, the man slid the knife down a little bit, the tip catching in the cord of her necklace. Her pendant slipped out from beneath her shirt, bouncing lightly against her chest, and his fingers tightened on her arm as he inhaled sharply. In a flash, he spun Ava around and threw her toward another man, who held her arms behind her.

  Ava tried to catch her breath, dizzy with the quick movement. “What? What was that for?”

  The dark-haired man advanced on her and wrapped his hand around the pendant. “Where did you get this?” he asked stonily.

  “That’s none of your business!”

  He twisted the cord, and it bit into the flesh of her neck. “Answer the question.”

  Ava lifted her chin stubbornly but relented. “Caleb gave it to me.”

  “That’s a lie.” He jerked her closer, Ava’s face now inches from his flashing eyes. “You stole it!”

  “I didn’t! He—”

  “He’d never give this away!”

  “She’s his girlfriend.” Emma stepped forward and wormed her way between the angry man and Ava. “They’re together.”

  The man blinked, and his mouth dropped open a bit in surprise. “But he never said . . .” He seemed truly at a loss for words.

  Ava seized the moment, thinking quickly. “Look,” she said. “I know people here. Bel? Or Audrey . . .” She searched her mind for the last name of the woman from the safe house who’d trained her. “Collins. Audrey lives here now, right? She can tell you who I am.”

  To his credit, the leader at least seemed to consider her plea. After a moment, he turned to one of the men. “Go find Audrey. Bring her to the conference room.”

  Ava quietly let out a breath of relief.

  “Good Lord.” Tiernan didn’t often look surprised, but he stared wide-eyed at the man. “You’re Gideon Campbell, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question. “I thought you were dead.”

  As one, everyone turned toward the Protector.

  Ava noted the look of shock on Tiernan’s face. “Gideon Campbell?” She looked to Tiernan for an explanation, but he didn’t look away from the man—Gideon, apparently—he just stared him down, his body vibrating with tension. Ava swore she could hear his teeth grinding. Tiernan was not one for holding back when threatened, and at that moment, he had three guns pointed at his head.

  “What’s going on?” Ava struggled against the hands holding her, and Gideon turned back to her although he still didn’t speak.

  He seemed to be taking her measure, his eyes dropping again to the necklace before rising slowly to examine her face.

  Ava considered him as well, and then it hit her. Maybe it was the shape of his eyes—narrowed ever so slightly as he studied her features—or the curve of his cheekbones—a bit fuller with the years, but still so familiar—or perhaps the way he stood, loose-limbed, but aware of everything about him. Maybe it was all of it combined, but Ava suddenly knew.

  “You’re Caleb’s father,” she whispered, her voice cracking slightly.

  He took a deep breath. “Aye,” he said, and with that word, Ava detected a hint of a brogue in the depths of his rumbling voice. “I’m his father. And who might you be?”

  “Ava. Ava Michaels.”

  His eyes widened slightly. “I’ve heard about you. But Caleb never . . .” He stared at her for another long moment, and for some reason, Ava felt her gift flare a bit in response. With a jerk of his head, Gideon ordered the man restraining Ava to release her, and she rubbed at her arm absently.

  “All right,” he said as the group relaxed and reluctantly lowered their weapons. “I think you and I need to have a talk, Miss Michaels.”

  Tiernan scowled as he trailed behind the group toward a cluster of large, metal buildings, constantly scanning the area for potential threats. Well, potential threats in addition to the blasted Guardians and Gideon Campbell.

  He wasn’t exaggerating when he said he’d thought the man was dead. Neither Caleb nor Madeleine ever spoke of the man�
�in fact, among the Race, his name was only uttered in hushed tones, if at all. Everyone knew that it was Gideon who broke away from the Council to protest its treatment of Half-Breeds—Gideon who created the Guardians along with a handful of other rebels. But as for what happened to him after the fateful day he finally left New Elysia for good, left Madeleine Foster and her young son, no one knew for sure. He’d all but disappeared off the Council’s radar, showing up now and then through the years only to evaporate back into the ether. It had been decades since the last sighting, and many—like Tiernan—had assumed he’d been killed, perhaps by a Protector who didn’t know who he was or his value to the Council if he were captured rather than eliminated. After all, encounters with Guardians were more of a ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ kind of thing.

  But no, Gideon Campbell was alive and well, and evidently still very much in command of the Guardians. Tiernan couldn’t help but wonder if Madeleine Foster was aware of that fact. He half believed she was—and Tiernan wasn’t quite sure if the thought made him angry or perhaps sparked a bit of grudging respect for the Council leader who may not be a typical politician after all.

  They entered a large building on the far side of the compound, Gideon pressing his thumb to an electronic lock and entering a code before the thick metal door swung open. A few of Gideon’s entourage followed them inside, but most took up posts outside the building, casting warning glances toward Tiernan before shouldering their weapons. The blonde, he noticed, stuck close to him, apparently still not sure he could be trusted.

  Smart woman.

  They walked down a dim hallway lined by crates, filing cabinets, and surprisingly well-organized shelving units, and came to a large room with a conference table in the center and several computer screens, including a large monitor all but covering one of the walls. It was clearly a command center of some kind.

  Tiernan noticed all of the screens were blank, and the blonde quickly gathered up a scattering of papers and maps on the table and stashed them in a large drawer.

  He made a note of that for later. Just because he promised Ava he wouldn’t betray the location of the Colony didn’t mean he couldn’t do some recon of his own for future use.

  Gideon stood at the head of the table, waving his hand in invitation for the rest of them to sit. The blonde took the seat to his right, Ava to his left. Emma sat next to Ava, the dampener on her other side, and Tiernan stood back, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “I’ll stand, if you don’t mind,” he said, his tone clear; it didn’t matter if Gideon minded or not. Tiernan still didn’t trust these people, and he wanted both the exit and his charges in his direct line of sight in case they had to make a run for it.

  Gideon shrugged and sat down, turning his attention to Ava.

  “Now, before we get started, you should know that Adam”—he glanced at the dampener—“will keep your gifts at bay as long as I feel you may be a threat. And Tyra”—he tilted his head toward the blonde— “is the best shot we have, which says a lot.”

  She hefted her gun a bit before laying it on the table in front of her, tilting her head with a smirk.

  Gideon braced his forearms on the table and leaned toward Ava, gaze intent. “As for me, you should know that I have a talent for seeing the truth. More than the average Race, not to toot my own horn. So I’d advise you not to lie to me.”

  “I have no intention of lying,” Ava said, looking Gideon square in the eye.

  “Good.” He sat back and folded his hands on his stomach. “Now, why are you here?”

  Tiernan fought back an irritated growl and apparently didn’t do a good job of it because Gideon cast him an annoyed glance.

  “We told you,” he said. “We’re looking for Foster. We have reason to believe he’s coming here. And he could put all of you in danger.”

  To Tiernan’s surprise, Gideon jerked his head in a curt nod. “And why do you think this?”

  Emma cleared her throat. “Because of me,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “It’s not her fault.” Ava said, shifting a little to draw Gideon’s suspicious stare. “She was held prisoner by some Rogues. They forced her to use her gift to alter his mind.”

  “Alter his mind?” Gideon tensed, his eyes darting to the dampener, who nodded as if to reassure him he had the situation under control.

  “Look, we don’t have time for all of this,” Ava said, slapping the table with an exasperated huff. “To put it simply, the Rogues had Emma mess with Caleb’s mind to make him sympathetic to their cause. They needed him to work with them for some reason.”

  “To help Elias Borré escape Council custody, for one thing,” Tiernan said.

  “Elias Borré?” Gideon’s brows shot up and his body tensed. “That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.”

  Tiernan nodded. “We don’t know what else they have planned, but Caleb is headed in this direction, and he’s not alone. We can only assume he plans to expose the Colony.”

  “But why?” Gideon asked. “What purpose would that serve? Rogues have never had a problem with us. If anything, they like that we help divert Council attention away from them.”

  “We don’t know,” Ava said with a resigned sigh. “But we need to find Caleb so Emma can undo what she did.”

  Gideon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took a long look at each of them—Ava, Emma, and finally, Tiernan. He could feel the man probing him but resisted the instinct to try and fight him off. With a distracted grunt, Gideon blinked twice and got to his feet.

  “Double the perimeter patrol,” he told Tyra. “Take Adam and have Lydia strengthen the cloak. We don’t want to keep him out, but I want to know when anyone gets within five miles of us.” Tyra nodded and turned for the door, but Gideon grabbed her arm. “No one is to harm Caleb,” he said gravely. “Incapacitate him if you must, but I don’t want him hurt.”

  He issued no such warning about the Rogues, and Tiernan knew the Guardians wouldn’t hesitate to take them out if necessary. “We need to question the Rogues,” Tiernan said. “Find out what they’re planning.”

  Gideon considered that and acquiesced with a grim nod. “But we only need one or two of them for that,” he said. “Any extras are fair game.”

  Tiernan almost smiled. He thought he could very well learn to like Gideon Campbell.

  Chapter 10

  Ava’s instincts were buzzing. She knew Gideon was holding something back. Even with her gift muted by the dampener, she could sense his hesitation—his deception. But the man offered them a hot meal, the first one in quite a while not prepared in a convenience store microwave, so she tabled her suspicions and followed him into another room that apparently served as a kind of common area for the Colony.

  Mismatched tables and chairs were arranged around the room—rather industrial with white walls and scuffed gray tile, but a floor-to-ceiling fireplace flanked by large windows looking out onto the wild forest beyond kept it from being too cold and sterile. A handful of colonists were gathered around a big-screen television on the other side of the room, taking turns playing some kind of video game as they lounged on a worn leather sofa and a couple of comfortable recliners. They looked up with suspicion, the room falling silent as Ava, Tiernan, and Emma walked in, but with a nod from Gideon they turned back to their game, although at a much lower volume.

  Gideon left them with an older woman named Molly who fed them bowls of soup thick with beef and vegetables and slabs of crusty bread. They ate in silence, all more hungry than they’d realized, not to mention a bit exhausted from their nonstop traveling.

  After a while, Ava felt the block of the dampener fade until it vanished altogether. “You feel that?” she asked Emma.

  The girl nodded.

  Ava could feel her flex her power, testing its limits now that it had been released. “Guess we’ve been deemed trustworthy, at least somewhat.” Ava yawned, breaking apart her last bit of bread into a crumbling pile. “You know Gideon’s keeping something
from us,” she said.

  Tiernan snorted. “You’re surprised at that?”

  “Not really. I mean, he has no reason to trust us. I’m just saying.”

  He took another bite and peered at her sideways. “What do you think it is?”

  “You think he’s heard from Caleb?” Emma asked.

  Ava shrugged. “I don’t think that’s it. He seems as concerned about Caleb as I—as we are. He just wasn’t that surprised when I mentioned Rogues.”

  Tiernan grunted.

  “You think he knows what they’re up to?” Emma dipped bread in her soup, watching Ava with wide eyes.

  “I don’t know. I think he knows something.”

  “You want me to try and get it out of him?” Emma asked, and Ava shivered a little at the anticipation in her tone.

  Even Tiernan eyed her with surprise.

  “No, I think we can be a bit more subtle,” Ava replied. “He’s finally called off that dampener. I don’t want him to change his mind.”

  Emma nodded and stirred her soup slowly, looking as if she was working through her own thoughts.

  “You should talk to him,” Tiernan told Ava.

  She barked out a laugh. “Me? It should be you. You two have that whole soldiers-in-arms thing going with the grunting and the looming.”

  “I don’t loom.”

  “You totally loom. But that’s beside the point.”

  “The point,” Tiernan said, pointing at her with his spoon, “is that I’m a Protector. I’m the closest the Council has ever gotten to this place. I’m lucky he didn’t throw me in chains on sight.”

  Ava frowned. She couldn’t really argue with that.

  They stared at their empty bowls for a while, lulled by the muted sounds of the video game and the quiet rhythm of low voices.

  Ava wondered how many of the Guardians playing were listening in on their conversation but found she didn’t really care. She was tired of all the secrets. Tired of running. Tired of the lies. And she had a sneaking suspicion that her own doubts about Gideon’s candor wouldn’t come as a surprise to the man.