“You have to leave. Grab Andrea, Beth, and Elizabeth and get the hell out of Tombstone.”
“What? Why?” I asked, standing up. My heart began to race.
“Julio’s alive.” He hung up the phone. I spun, the rug twisting under my feet, and found Andrea holding her phone and her mouth hung open. We both paused for a half second and then started talking at once.
“Grab your stuff. We need—”
“You have two minutes to pack—”
Naomi was at my side. “Take a deep breath. What’s the matter?”
“Julio’s alive. We have to get out of here.” I couldn’t shake the panic that was rising in my chest. If he caught us he could steal Naomi, Andrea, Beth, and Elizabeth’s powers. I couldn’t let happen. “Now, we have to go now.”
Andrea chimed in. “Morgan said that Julio’s sending a group of Guardians out here. If we don’t leave now, they’ll capture us all. Don’t even bother packing. We can shop in Vegas.”
Puck had rented a minivan in case we all went out together and now I was grateful for his foresight. As we ran out of the house, I noticed Elizabeth dragging a suitcase along with her. There was no way she had time to pack that in the thirty seconds it took us to flee from her house.
We all shoved into the van. Puck spun out of the driveway not even bothering to wait for us to shut the doors, sending gravel spraying everywhere. As he sped down the dirt road, Andrea and Beth moved to the backseat and fumbled with the seatbelts, and I slid off Jordan’s lap. He helped me buckle up. My brain was having a hard time processing what just happened. I turned to Elizabeth.
“How come you were already packed?”
She wrung her hands. “I can see the future sometimes. But only patches, and nothing that ever makes sense. All I saw was that I needed to pack a suitcase, so I did. I was a little peeved too. I haven’t left my home in twenty years.”
Geesh. I was learning about all kinds of power I never knew existed. From memory modification to people seeing the future. What else was out there? At first I was excited by the prospect but then I frowned. I would never have a power like that. Because my own power was now gone. But if Julio was back, then that meant…
“Stop!” I yelled.
Puck swerved a bit but didn’t stop the car.
“If Julio is back, that means Lincoln could be alive too. We have to go back for him.” I knew I was talking nonsense. But Lincoln.
Naomi turned around and grasped my hand. “I know how much Lincoln means to you, but our lives are not worth the risk. I will call Nan and Esteban and ask them to keep an eye out for him. If he’s alive, they’ll find him.”
I was not entirely appeased, but I didn’t want to risk anyone else getting their power removed. I knew how that felt and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Suddenly the van lurched forward. I grabbed Jordan’s arm as he turned around.
“Shit, Puck, they are right on us,” he said.
Sure enough, there was a battered pickup right behind us. It tapped the van again and Puck floored it. I was thrown back against my seat and my seat belt tightened against my chest. I turned when I had the chance and saw that we were losing them, just a little bit. Then Puck slammed on the brakes and my neck snapped forward.
The van swerved and soon we were on the rocky desert floor. Puck barreled over cacti and I cringed. We all bounced up and down in our seats. Elizabeth grabbed my arm. I looked back to the road and saw three more trucks lined up along the freeway. Men stood in the beds of the trucks, all watching us. This wasn’t good. They’d do better on the rough terrain than we would.
Naomi spoke up. “Puck, we need to get back on the road. The van wasn’t meant for the desert floor.”
“I know,” Puck said.
I turned to see the trucks taking off, following us into the desert.
“Woo-hoo! It’s like a little filly roundup,” yelled one of the men.
Andrea gave him the bird. “You can rot in hell, you bum!” she screamed out the window.
Puck grimaced. “Would you mind not enraging them any further? I think they are motivated enough as it is.”
Our pursuers were trying to cut us off by forcing the van toward a large group of tall cacti. Puck slammed on the brakes and made a hard left, back for the road.
He gunned it once the wheels hit pavement and I peeked over his shoulder. 120. Whoa. I hoped he could keep control of the car. Naomi gripped the armrests, her knuckles white. I couldn’t get a look at her face but I’d bet a hundred bucks that her eyes were closed.
The entrance ramp to the freeway was coming up. Puck slowed a little and the trucks behind us gained some distance. Puck raced onto the entrance ramp and merged onto the freeway where he slowed way down. There were too many other cars.
He swerved in and out of traffic and I knew we were still going a lot faster than everyone else. I looked behind me but there were too many different trucks for me to tell if they were from Julio’s clan or not. After about thirty minutes, Puck slowed and Naomi’s hands relaxed.
“I think we lost them,” Puck said. I felt my own heartbeat slowing down.
“Don’t you think they know we are heading to the airport?” I asked.
“Maybe. But Naomi texted our travel agent and now our flights all leave in less than an hour. They’ll have a hard time getting past security and I doubt they’ll be able to get on the plane.”
I sat back. “But they are Guardians. They can talk anyone into anything.”
Puck shook his head. “Too many people. They won’t risk it.”
When we arrived at the airport, Puck went get our boarding passes while Naomi returned the rental car. I stood near the security gates with everyone else and bounced on the balls of my feet. Puck said they wouldn’t get past security, but I didn’t believe him. If Julio sent those men after us, they’d search the entire airport. After Puck checked us in, we got in line for security screening and Naomi handed me my boarding pass. I looked down at it.
“It says I’m going to Arkansas.”
Naomi nodded. “Yep, you and I are heading east for a few days. The others will go home with Puck.”
“Why?” I asked. I hated feeling like I was getting left out of something. I looked over at Jordan, Beth, and Andrea, who stood in front of us, getting their passes from Puck. Jordan smiled at me and then went through the security scanner.
Naomi just smiled. “It’s a surprise.”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t like surprises.”
Naomi’s grin got bigger. “You’ll like this one.”
“Whatever,” I muttered.
I was the last in our group to be checked. The TSA agent stopped me and asked me to wait while they checked Puck’s bag. I shuffled my feet. I didn’t like being on my own back here. A hand touched my shoulder and I jumped.
“If I thought I could get away with it, you’d be coming with me. You might want to anyway.”
I spun and found myself face to face with Julio.
Sunday
If you are going to have a cacti garden there is only one rule. Always wear shoes. I’ll admit I don’t always follow that rule, but I usually pay for it. If someone ever dissected my foot, they would probably find dozens of glochids floating around. There is no way to pull them all out. I try to be positive about it though. Now I’m part cacti.
JULIO’S FACE AND NECK were covered with hideous scratches.
I backed away. “What makes you think I’d want come with you?”
“I’ve got your boy Wyatt. He could use some company.”
“You’re lying. Wyatt’s too smart to be caught.”
He shrugged. “Believe whatever you want.”
“What about Lincoln?” I asked.
“Who?” he asked.
“My cat.”
“You mean the one who did this?” He pointed to the scratch marks on his face. “If he had survived, I would’ve killed him.” He grinned and I nearly punched him in the face.
“Next,
” the TSA agent called out.
I turned, eager to get away from Julio and from the possibility of getting kidnapped. On the other side of the gate, Naomi watched me with wide eyes while Puck argued with a TSA officer and pointed at me. I didn’t see Jordan or the girls.
I handed my boarding pass to the agent and Julio put his mouth right next to my ear.
“We know what we are looking for now. You girls are going down. Make no mistake, we will get you in the end. When we finish all of this, your power will just be a fleeting memory.”
I hardly heard him because at that moment I saw Puck being escorted away by TSA agents. Naomi glanced quickly between him and me. She started to follow after Puck, but he waved his hand toward me. As soon as I stepped through the scanner, Naomi had her arms around me.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded even though I was shaking. She grabbed my hand and rushed over to where Puck was being harassed by four agents. He stopped mid-rant and looked at me.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Then he looked at one of the agents. “She’s fine now. Can I go?”
“No, sir, you’ll have to stay with us.”
Puck rolled his eyes. “You guys go on ahead. I’ll be fine. I want you on the airplane. I’ll text you when I get out of this mess.”
Naomi hesitated for a second, then turned and walked toward our gate.
“What’d he say?” she asked me.
“That he has Wyatt, and that he was going to take all of our powers.”
She shook his head. “So nothing we didn’t already suspect. At least it is confirmed. I’d bet money that he has Morgan too.”
“Where are Jordan and the girls?” I asked.
“When we saw Julio, Puck sent them on ahead to get on the airplane. He didn’t want to risk anything. I hope he’s okay.”
“What happened to Puck?”
“He tried to go after you when we saw Julio. He almost made it, too. But three security guards pulled him back. I’m surprised he didn’t get shot with a Taser or something.”
I grinned. “I’m glad he cares that much. But Julio wouldn’t have kidnapped me. He has nothing to take from me.”
Naomi frowned. “We need to change that.”
“How?” I asked.
“You’ll see. Just wait.”
I hated answers like that. Our original flight wasn’t supposed to leave until nine, but this one left at two. Just before the flight attendants asked us to turn off our phones, Puck sent Naomi a text saying that he was fine and that he made his flight. Naomi became noticeably more relaxed after that.
Before I knew it, we were in the air once again. After three flights in two weeks, I was getting pretty sick of airplanes. They were claustrophobic and the air was stale. When the plane finally touched down, I rushed off the airplane into the jet bridge and nearly went back into the plane when I felt the heavy wet air. Humidity. Yuck. Naomi and I rented a car and headed north to her father’s place.
“I hate coming back here,” I said when Naomi turned onto the gravel road leading to her old house.
“I know, but this is the only way.”
“I still don’t know what we are doing.”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
We found Naomi’s dad in the garden. She gave him a hug. I left them alone and walked over to Naomi’s Destroyer rose. Its brilliant purple blooms looked beautiful. I couldn’t feel anything coming off of it; the rose usually buzzed with power. It also used to tickle me, but when I reached out my hand to stroke a bloom, it didn’t react at all.
“Naomi,” I called.
“Yeah.”
“I think there is something wrong with your rose.”
She approached and the rose started moving. It reached out a small bloom and brushed up against her chin.
“The problem isn’t the rose, it’s you,” she said, smiling as she brought one of the blooms to her nose.
She didn’t need to be so blunt about it.
Naomi stepped away from the rose and looked at me. “But that’s what we are going to fix.”
“What?” I asked, surprised. I could have been wrong, but it sounded like she was going to help me get my power back.
“Come on, let’s go inside.”
Naomi’s dad fixed us all coffee. I dumped three teaspoons of sugar in mine, and a lot of milk.
Naomi sat across from me. “After my mother wreaked havoc on the Guardian and Destroyer world, I had to remove power from a lot of people. All Destroyer power went directly into the Destroyer rose. But a few Destroyers had figured out how to take Guardians’ power by killing them, so I had the power of two Guardians that I gave to my father when he agreed to watch over my rose.
“He’s had trouble managing both powers, they seem to work against each other sometimes. They aren’t very strong, which was why I was reluctant to take one from him. I didn’t know if he’d still be able to control the rose with just one power left, but now I think I’m going to take that risk.”
She looked at me, but I was still really confused. “I don’t understand what this has to do with me.”
“Well, what do you think I should do with the other power?”
I shrugged. Who cared? I thought this was about me getting my power back.
She sighed. “I’m going to give it to you.”
“What? That’s possible?”
She nodded and grinned. “Of course. Didn’t you hear what I said about giving it to my dad first?” I had, but somehow it didn’t register that it could apply to me.
I jumped up. “Then what are you waiting for?”
She laughed. “That’s better.” Then, looking at her dad, she asked, “Are you ready?”
He leaned back in his chair and set his coffee cup down. “I’ve been asking you to do this for months, of course I’m ready.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure you can handle the rose with only one Guardian power?”
“I’ll be just fine.”
She placed her hands palms up on the table and her dad placed his own on top of hers.
I’d never seen Naomi do this before. In fact, I’d never seen it at all, aside from the rose sucking out my power. She held on to his hands and closed her eyes. I couldn’t even tell anything was going on until I saw Naomi’s dad stiffen. His face contorted and he grimaced.
Seconds later it was all done. Naomi looked at me.
“Your turn,” she waved and I put my hands in hers. She grasped them.
“Wait.” I pulled away. For some reason this scared me. “Will this hurt?”
She shook her head. My hands shook a little bit as I placed them in hers again. She smiled. “This won’t hurt, I promise.”
I nodded and waited. It didn’t take long and I felt a brightness enter my palms. It was warm like sunshine. The power flowing through my veins wasn’t nearly as strong as what I had before, but it was warmer somehow, easier.
I opened my eyes and looked directly at Naomi. “Thank you.”
“No problem. How does it feel?”
“Different. Not as strong.”
Naomi frowned. “I expect this energy is extremely weak compared to what you had before. You had more power than anyone I knew.”
“Yeah. But it’s way better than not having anything at all.”
“Dad, how are you doing?” Naomi asked.
“I think I’ll manage better now. Thanks.”
“Good. Sunday, do you want to go for a walk?” She stood up.
As soon as I stepped outside I began to sweat. I did not miss the humid air, though the cover of the redbuds and the oaks along the worn path was beautiful. We walked down to the creek and I tossed rocks into the deep pools. Most of the time I didn’t miss the Ozarks, but I had to admit, it was peaceful.
I looked at my hands. I had power now, but it was different. Could I still do everything I did before? Could I still take power from others, like Naomi? I’d never tried before and I ho
ped I’d never have to, but I didn’t think Naomi liked being a leech either. Yet, she had taken power from many people.
“How’d you end up with Alejandro’s power? Did you take it from him?”
Naomi sighed. “No.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, I took it, but not from him.”
“I don’t understand.”
“A couple of Destroyers killed Alejandro and took his power. I took it back from them.”
I felt nauseous when I thought of what they’d done. “That’s awful.”
“I know.”
“Who was the Master Destroyer while this was happening?” I asked. It seemed so unbelievable that anyone would let that happen.
She snorted. “Me.”
“What?”
“I hadn’t learned how to control the Destroyers and had no one to ask. It was impossible to figure out on my own, so I stood by and watched while they slaughtered Guardians.”
I picked up a rock and found a fossil. I traced the circular pattern and thought about what she said. “Eventually you won, right?”
Naomi crossed her arms. “I did. But too many people died. I made Jason the Master Destroyer for many reasons, but mostly it was because he helped me find control. I knew he would be able to handle the Destroyers from the very beginning. Destroyers know when power has been passed from one to another because there is a period of chaos where they can tell they aren’t being controlled. But the transfer of power from me to Jason went so smoothly that no one knew there had been a change. Most of them think Jason was in charge from the minute my mother died.”
“So, whose power do I have?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I have no idea. It was from a Minor Guardian, that’s all I know. The Destroyers went after the Minors when after I stopped them from killing the Majors. They got around my command by using people without power to kill for them. They had a harder time getting close to Major Guardians, but the Minors were easy.”
“Geesh. What happened to those guys?”
“They’re in jail now. They were caught by the police and labeled serial killers. One of them might even be on death row. I can’t remember. I didn’t really follow the trial. Honestly, I’d like to forget about it because I feel responsible for all the havoc they wreaked.”
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 61