The MORE Trilogy

by T. M. Franklin

  Christopher tipped his head and flopped down on one of the sofas.

  “Your brother, Jae,” Borré extended a hand toward a larger man with blond hair and almond-shaped green and brown eyes. “He’s a shifter, like your Caleb, but with considerably more skill.”

  Jae smirked and shot her a mock salute.

  “The lovely redhead by the fireplace is your sister, Mara, and of course you know Emma.” Borré crossed the room to kiss them each on the cheek. “The brooding one in the armchair is Max.” His smile swept the room. “Everyone, this is your sister, Ava.”

  Ava ticked off numbers in her head.

  Evan and Isaiah were back in New Elysia. Sloan was gone, for now. That left—

  “This isn’t everyone.”

  Borré’s face darkened. “No. A few of your siblings have had to be contained as they have yet to have their blocks fully lifted. They have not fully committed to the cause, but they’ll come around.”

  “Sophie?”

  He tilted his head in acknowledgement. “Has been a bit of a problem. I’m sure she’ll come around soon, though.”

  “I want—I’d like to see her.” She swallowed, her gaze landing on each of her siblings before coming to settle on Borré. “Please . . . Father.”

  That was wrong. Was that wrong?

  A delighted smile lit his face, and he strode toward her and took her shoulders in his hands. “Of course, daughter. Perhaps you can convince Sophie of our mission.”

  Ava mirrored his smile. “I can try.”

  She felt warm, safe. Her gift wrapped with all the others.

  Sophie’s will make it almost complete.

  Borré led her back down the hall and pressed his palm to a glass panel next to one of the doors. A blast of cold air swept out at them, stealing Ava’s breath.

  “Don’t worry, her gift’s been neutralized, at least a bit,” Borré explained. “She can’t harm us beyond giving us some goose bumps.”

  “Neutralized?”

  “Until she’s proven her loyalty. It’s a temporary measure, I assure you, and she’s perfectly fine.”

  Ava nodded and walked into the room, her breath frosting before her. “Sophie?” She looked around the empty room—a small living room with a kitchen off to one side and a doorway opposite.

  Sophie appeared in that doorway, eyes wide. “Ava? What are you doing here?”

  Blinding pain sliced through Ava’s head, and she doubled over from the impact. Memories flooded her mind, and she fought through them, pushing them aside, one mission breaking through.

  “I have to go back.”

  “No way, it’s not safe!” Caleb turned away.

  “I have to get my parents away from him. We need intel. I need to find Sophie—”

  “And how are you going to do that? You said yourself Borré would know if you were lying.”

  “Ava? Are you all right?” Borré asked, concern furrowing his brow as he reached for her.

  She backed away, hoping it looked more like she was hurrying to Sophie and less like she didn’t want him to touch her.

  She knew Caleb wouldn’t love the idea, so she put it to Gideon instead. “What if I wasn’t lying?” She glanced at Isaiah, who was watching with wide eyes.

  “No way—”

  “Caleb!” She threw up her hands in frustration. “Someone has to figure this out, and I’m the best option.” When he pressed his lips together, gaze dropping to the floor, she turned to Isaiah. “Could you do it, you think? Make me believe I’m on Borré’s side?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked scared, nervous. “I’m pretty new to all this. I’m not sure it’ll stick.”

  “Even Emma couldn’t get it to stick,” Caleb said. “You fought through it.”

  “But if I wanted to believe it,” Ava said slowly, her eyes locking with her brother’s. “If we worked together?”

  Isaiah plucked at his sleeves, too long and stretched wide from the habit, then he nodded. “Yeah. I think I can do it. I can try.”

  “I just . . . could I have a moment with Sophie, sister to sister?” Ava asked, forcing a hopeful look. “Please, Father?”

  His featured softened. “Of course. I’ll check on you later.” He stepped out of the room and closed it quietly.

  Ava whirled on Sophie. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, but—” She held a finger to her lips, grabbed Ava’s wrist, dragged her through the bedroom and into a small bathroom, and turned on the water. “They monitor every room but this one,” she whispered.

  “How do you know this one’s safe?”

  “I don’t. Not for sure, but I’ve gone over every inch, opened up the faucets and looked in the toilet. If there’s a mic or a transmitter, I think I would have found it.” Sophie squeezed Ava’s wrist tightly, her voice a quiet hiss. “Is Isaiah all right?”

  “He’s fine. He’s safe.”

  Sophie let out a relieved breath and let her go. “Thank God.” She leaned against the counter for a moment, her gaze calculating. “So what are you doing here? You and that whack job seemed pretty buddy-buddy.”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “I was hoping not.”

  “You’ll need a trigger,” Gideon said quietly. “Something to break through the planted thoughts.”

  “When she sees her parents,” Caleb suggested.

  “No, it has to be Sophie.”

  Ava and Isaiah exchanged a small smile.

  “It could be days before you see Sophie, Ava,” Caleb said, glancing apologetically at the boy. “You have no idea if you can pull this off for that long.”

  “I can do it. I’ll do it,” Ava replied with a firm nod. “It has to be Sophie.”

  “I don’t have a lot of time,” Ava said, pulling Sophie closer in case someone was listening. “I’m going to get you out of here, but we have to be careful.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I can take whatever that sick bastard deals out.”

  “For now,” Ava whispered. “But Emma hasn’t gotten her claws into you yet. If Borré decides he’s tired of waiting for you to come around, there’s no telling what he’ll do to you.”

  “So what do I do?”

  “Sit tight,” Ava said, squeezing her hand. “I have to get outside, but I’ll be back for you. I promise.”

  “How are you going to get outside without Borré noticing?”

  Ava thought about that for a minute. “I guess I could use a diversion?”

  “I can’t do much in here. The rooms have an effect on my power. I can cool things down, but I can’t form a snowflake, let alone anything more.”

  Ava frowned. “So it’s the room? He didn’t do anything to you directly?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “So we need to get you out of here,” Ava said. “I think I can handle that.”

  Chapter 15

  “Ready?” Ava asked.

  Sophie nodded. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I can take it. Just make it look good.”

  “Okay.”

  Ava reached for her gift and concentrated on unlocking the door. When it clicked and swung open, she stepped through, spotting the open doors of the sitting room at the end of the hall.

  Her father had evidently been waiting for her and stood up to head for the door when he saw her.

  “I’m sorry,” Ava said. “I didn’t know if I was supposed to wait for someone to let me out.”

  “Don’t ever apologize for using your gifts,” he replied. “There’s nothing—”

  Sophie shoved Ava through the door and into the far wall, whirling around and gathering her power.

  Ava wanted to give her a boost, but wasn’t sure if Borré would feel it, so instead, she let herself slump to the floor as Sophie hurled a barrage of ice balls toward him.

  He retreated behind the double doors, but Ava knew the element of surprise wouldn’t last.

  Sophie jerked her head in
a silent signal and shouted, “You’re nothing but his puppet!” as she shot another ice chunk toward Ava.

  Ava scrambled to her feet and ran down the hallway as a shower of ice flew her way. She threw herself into the elevator and heard the fight continuing as the doors slid closed. She prayed Sophie would be all right as the elevator shot toward the surface. Ava pulled off her shoe, prying loose the tiny transmitter hidden under the sole before she shoved it back on. When the elevator doors opened, she raced down the hall toward the entrance, listening for any sign she’d been followed, or for someone guarding the entrance. She paused when she reached the door and pressed her ear against it. Hearing nothing, she threw it open and ran across the dirt road to hide behind a cluster of trees.

  She dialed her cell phone and pressed the button on the transmitter, cursing when nothing happened. “The red light. Where’s the red light?” she murmured, trying not to panic as she shook it a little before pressing the button again.

  “Ava?”

  She nearly dropped her phone, fumbling it between her shoulder and ear. “Caleb? This damned thing isn’t working!”

  “Calm down. Check the contacts like I told you,” he said. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Don’t know how long I have before Borré realizes I’ve gone, though.” She flipped the transmitter open and slid open the little panel on the bottom. “Are my parents okay?”

  “We intercepted the car. They’re on the way to New Elysia. It’s a good thing Lucy was with us, or I don’t think we would have gotten them to leave. She’s with them now, trying to explain all this.”

  Some of the tension left Ava’s body.

  They’re safe.

  “Thank you.” She fiddled with the wires in the transmitter and slid the panel closed. “I found Sophie. We need—”

  “What are you doing, Ava?”

  She whirled around, Borré’s voice chilling her, although not as much as the fact she hadn’t sensed him coming. She pressed the button repeatedly and almost collapsing with relief when the red light finally flicked on.

  “Ava?” Caleb’s voice was frantic on the phone.

  Instinctually, she ended the call when Borré’s eyes flicked to it. “You can’t do this,” she said, one last plea. Maybe she could get through to him. “There’s got to be a better way.”

  “There is no other way.” Borré took a step toward her. “I don’t understand. You lied to me. How did you lie to me?” He looked genuinely confused.

  “It’s not a lie if you believe it,” she said, unable to help herself.

  Caleb materialized next to her, and she launched herself into his arms.

  “Ava, no!” Borré flung out a hand, and his power reached for her.

  She pushed back with her own. “We will stop you,” she promised, locking eyes with Borré as the ground fell away beneath her feet.

  Isaiah and Tiernan were waiting when they landed, although Ava had no idea where exactly they were.

  “Hurry,” she said, reaching for Isaiah’s hand as Tiernan walked a slow circle around them, keeping watch.

  Isaiah held her tightly and closed his eyes, focusing on her thoughts.

  She imagined the layout of the bunker, every hallway, every door. She heard Isaiah gasp when she visualized Sophie in her room, and she shook his arm to get his attention. “Now,” she said urgently, pulling Caleb toward them until they were linked in a circle. She waited, pushing her own gift toward Isaiah, and Caleb closed his eyes as Isaiah transferred her thoughts to him—her memories.

  After a moment, Caleb opened his eyes.

  “Got it?” she asked.

  Caleb nodded and popped a couple of R-cubes before he disappeared.

  “Are you sure this is going to work?” Isaiah asked nervously.

  “It’ll work.”

  “It better work fast.” Tiernan glowered, on alert as he looked out through the trees. “We need to get out of here.”

  “It’ll work!”

  It has to work.

  Ava felt the shimmer of Caleb’s power an instant before he appeared in front of her, Sophie clutched in his arms.

  They both stumbled, and Caleb fell to a knee.

  “I don’t know how you do that,” Sophie mumbled.

  Isaiah barreled into her, nearly knocking her off her feet.

  “I’m fine. Shhh . . .” she whispered, hugging him tightly.

  “I hate to break up the family reunion,” Tiernan said. “But we need to get the hell out of here.”

  Caleb was already swallowing another set of R-cubes and waving Sophie forward.

  “No, take Isaiah first,” she said, pushing her brother toward him.

  Caleb grabbed the boy and disappeared.

  “We’ve got to run,” Tiernan said, reaching for Sophie.

  “Whoa!” She stepped back. “What are you doing?”

  Ava moved between them. “You can’t run as fast as us. Not yet, at least. Let Tiernan carry you. When Caleb’s dropped Isaiah, he’ll come back for you.”

  Sophie looked skeptical, but she let the Protector throw her over his shoulder.

  “Which way?” Ava asked.

  Tiernan didn’t say a word but started to run.

  Ava spared only a quick glance over her shoulder before she took off after him.

  It was almost too easy.

  Caleb had managed to shift into and out of Sophie’s rooms in the Rogue compound, and it seemed like no one was the wiser. She said she’d surrendered not long after Ava’s escape and withdrawn to her apartment-slash-prison to wait for him. They’d made it out and back to the car without anyone in pursuit.

  Of course, Borré would know where they were headed, but Caleb knew there was no way he’d let Sophie and Ava get away without a fight. He had, from what Ava’d told him, an army at his disposal, so why hadn’t he even tried to bring them back?

  Caleb didn’t like it.

  Tiernan had told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Caleb could tell the Protector was on edge as well. His eyes were all but riveted to the rearview mirror of the SUV, and it wasn’t until the helicopter left the ground that he seemed to relax.

  Caleb still hadn’t. And only part of the reason was how much he hated to fly.

  They got back to New Elysia long after the sun had set, but once assured that Lucy and her parents were settled and sleeping, Ava couldn’t wait to fill Gideon and Madeleine in on what she’d learned.

  They met at Madeleine’s house, and Caleb noticed that the atmosphere had warmed a bit where his parents were concerned. Perhaps the alliance and their common threat had helped them move beyond their differences, at least a little bit.

  “So what did you find out?” Madeleine asked.

  Ava filled them in about the Rogue stronghold, Borré’s plan, and the Twelve.

  “You say he had two others contained? Besides Sophie?” Gideon asked.

  “Yes. Borré said they had yet to ‘commit to the cause.’ ”

  “So they could still be turned to our side,” Madeleine mused.

  Tiernan scoffed, leaning on the wall with a clear view of the door. “Unless that sister of yours gets to them first.”

  Ava shook her head. “I know it’s weird, but I don’t think Borré will do that. He really wants us to come to him of our own free will—helped along by the little ‘homing beacon’ he put in our DNA, of course.” She paced the floor slowly. “Emma acted on her own with me, and from what she told me, Borré punished her for it.

  “When I let him in,” she said, seemingly lost in the memory. “When our gifts merged, he didn’t just see me. I saw him, too. And he really wants us—all the Twelve—to stand with him willingly. He sees us as the future. A royal family in his new world.”

  “It’s true,” Sophie said. “He’s big on all that ‘take your place at my side’ garbage.”

  “He sees us as the Race perfected.” Ava wrinkled her nose in distaste.

  Madeleine groaned, clearly aggravated. “And what
of the rest of the Race?”

  “His loyal subjects. Humans, little more than slaves, chattel.” Ava drew in a shaky breath. “Despite his claims that he wants a peaceful transition of power, in the end, they’re all expendable.”

  Caleb cleared his throat. “So what’s his plan? How is he going to go about instilling this new world order?”

  Ava’s small laugh sounded forced. “That’s the thing. After all this plotting and planning, it’s pretty simple. He’s going to stage a coup and overthrow the Council.”

  “But how?”

  “Don’t you see? He’s bred the Twelve especially for this. With this shifter—” Madeleine waved a beckoning hand toward Ava.

  “Jae.”

  “Jae.” Madeleine nodded. “With Jae, he can shift them all into the city without us knowing. Their abilities are stronger than any Race before. They can overpower the Council and lock us away, if not kill us outright.”

  “If they can access the computer network, they’ll control financial transactions . . . food and other supplies,” Gideon said.

  “The codes,” Ava said, stricken. “I gave them the security codes.”

  “Those codes were reset as soon as you left New Elysia,” Madeleine told her, gazing unseeingly out the window at the darkness. “Which he undoubtedly knew would happen. He was testing you. Toying with you. With all of us.”

  Tiernan pushed away from the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “So he sneaks his people in, imprisons the Council, basically gains control of the technology, the economy, then the infrastructure of New Elysia, then what?”

  “New Elysia is the center of everything Race,” Madeleine replied. “If they gain control here, it’s a small step to controlling Race cities around the world.”

  “First the Council, then the Race, then the world,” Ava said quietly.

  Tiernan clapped his hands together loudly, making everyone jump. “Right. So how do we stop him?”

  “First thing is to step up security,” Caleb said, his mind whirling with plans. “Put Protectors on the perimeter. We can’t rely simply on the surveillance cameras and cloaks.”

  “Beef up the firewalls, or whatever the techies call them,” Tiernan said. “Make it tougher for them to access the system if they do get through.”