I waved her up on the stage with me. I wished I could still do this without touch, that would be so much more impressive.
I placed my hand on her calf and smelled the deep earth. I infused it with the warmth of the sun and the taste of rain. When I removed my hand, the scar was gone.
The girl looked down, her eyes wide. “Holy cow, that was amazing. Can I really do things like that?”
I shrugged. “Possibly. Stay here for a second.” I looked back out at all the girls. “Anyone else have something they want healed?”
This time hands shot up all around the room. I pointed to a small girl who looked about twelve.
She came up and held out her hand. It was disfigured by a hideous burn.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I spilled boiling water on it this morning.”
“Eva.” I motioned for the first girl to come closer. “Gently put your hands around her burn.”
Eva did as she was told. The girl winced, then took a deep breath and looked up at Eva.
“Now, close your eyes. I want you to see if you can taste rain.”
Eva squeezed her eyes shut. “Good. You want to find the smell of deep earth and the feeling of the warmth of the sun. Once you have that, I want you to project that into the burn.”
She nodded. When she finally removed her hands, the burn was still there. Damn.
“Okay, that was a good try. You must not have that gift. I’m sorry. We’ll just have to find out later what your gift is.”
Eva dropped her eyes. “I still want to go with you. Will you have me even if I can’t do anything?”
“Of course. And I’m sure you can do a lot of things. Not everyone has the ability to heal.”
Suddenly I could taste rain and feel its drops on my face. The whole room smelled like a garden in the summer, I could taste the fresh tomatoes, and I was nearly blinded by the brightness of the sun. As fast as the sensations came, they were gone. I spun around and found the girl with the burn staring at her hand in disbelief. The flesh was healed.
“Did you do that?” I asked.
She nodded, still marveling at her hand.
Faith looked at me, her eyes wide. “I had a scratch on my arm and it’s gone.”
I reached up the back of my shirt. My scars had disappeared. Damn. I’d really wanted to keep them.
I looked out to the girls. “How many of you were healed?”
Girls in the first three rows raised their hands. The little girl had a radius of about twenty feet. Holy cow.
Faith wasted no time.
“How many of you want to go?”
A handful of the girls raised their hands—most of them in the first few rows. Faith began to speak more passionately. Her words weren’t overly impressive, but I found myself hanging onto every one. She could convince me to follow her over a cliff. When she finished she asked the question again.
“How many of you want to go?”
Nearly every hand in the room shot up. This girl was good and she’d picked up the skill of manipulation from her buddy Brad. She might not see that as a gift now but she would someday, and when she did, I hoped she’d use it the right way.
I looked at my phone. It was getting late. “Faith, I think it’s time to take me back.”
I turned to the little girl who had healed all the people around her.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Penny.”
“Okay, Penny, you need to be very careful with your power. When we come to get you, I want you to find me and I’ll have Naomi train you personally. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
She grinned and Faith tugged on my arm. “We need to go.”
I turned back to the crowd and raised my voice. “Could everyone please listen for a moment?” The chatter died down. “I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Make sure you keep your shields up and don’t tell any of the guys what we are doing. You risk everyone’s escape if you blab.”
As soon as we stepped out of the school building, I called Naomi.
“Hey,” I said when Naomi answered the phone.
“How are things going?” she asked.
“Good, I have a group of girls I want to send your way but it’s going to be tricky.”
I explained to her what Puck and I had found. She cursed, which was actually kind of funny because she never cursed.
“How many are we talking about?”
“About three hundred.”
“Whoa. It’s a good thing Elizabeth and I have been looking for a headquarters. We can’t do anything tonight. We need to figure out what Puck is planning and then we’ll execute a rescue mission. Tell Faith to have the girls ready to go in about two weeks. In the meantime, they need to be vigilant about their shields. Their leader will probably be suspicious after Puck’s visit and will be looking out for anything unusual.”
“Okay.”
I conveyed the message to Faith and she sighed in relief.
“Thank you. We’ll be ready to go, and Brad won’t know anything.”
She brought me back to our car, which was parked next to the café, and we waited for Puck.
Faith shuffled her feet and looked at me. “You know, I thought there would be no way out of this nightmare. I’m really grateful you guys showed up. You’re serious that I can do more with my power than just shield?”
I nodded. “Everyone can influence others. We are pretty good at making things grow. Most of the time we just try to offset the damage the Destroyers do, but I know a girl who can wipe memories and another one who can see the future. Usually you take on the powers of those around you.”
“Well, I don’t know what Brad is good for, other than manipulating girls to do what he wants them to.”
“Don’t underestimate that ability. I saw what you did with those girls in the cafeteria. They would be stuck here if you lacked the ability to be convincing.”
She sighed. “I can’t wait to be free.”
I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Soon, I promise.”
A car pulled up and Puck got out. Brad honked the horn and Faith grimaced. “See you soon.”
Puck didn’t look at me as he got in the car. His hands gripped the steering wheel and his face was twisted into a scowl. The taste of cough syrup was thick in my mouth and my ears buzzed. I put up a few extra shields.
“Whoa. You okay?”
He shook his head. “Brad refused. Said if I wanted to make war, they’d be ready, but they weren’t going to work under the general umbrella of the Guardians.”
“Did you really think it’d be that easy?”
He shook his head. “But I didn’t expect him to be that unreasonable.”
“How can they do this? It’s Destroyer behavior.”
“I don’t know. I need to call a council meeting. I might even have to invite Jason. He could have some insight on how to control them. Honestly, I don’t even want them, I’d prefer to just turn them over to him.”
“Puck, all of this is going to take too long. We’ve got to get those girls out of here. They are essentially being raped every day.”
Puck’s face went white. “You’re right. I was so focused on the guys, I didn’t think about the girls. If we remove the girls, the boys will just scatter. Then they won’t be a threat.”
“Aren’t you worried about them gathering somewhere else?”
“I’ll plant a handful of spies to follow them.” Puck pulled onto the main road. “Why don’t you call Naomi and let’s see what she thinks.”
Oh, crap. Naomi had to act like she didn’t know anything. She was smart though, she’d probably pull it off okay.
“Hey Naomi.” She started talking but I cut her off. “I have you on speakerphone. Puck’s driving. The situation in Jena isn’t good and we need your help.”
“Okay, what’s up?”
We told her about the Guardians in Jena, and how they were using their powers to abuse the women.
“Anyway,
” said Puck. “We were kind of hoping you, Sunday, and maybe a few of the girls from Arizona could get these women out, while I distract the men.”
“I think that’s a great plan,” said Naomi.
“Do you have any ideas what we are going to do with a hundred women?” asked Puck.
“Three hundred. There are three hundred women, not one hundred,” I said.
Puck swerved. “Shit. Really? Naomi, what do you think?”
“I’ll book a hundred and fifty hotel rooms for a couple of weeks and then we’ll help them all go home. Surely they had homes before they found this group.”
“That sounds like a great idea.”
We talked a little bit more about logistics and then Naomi hung up. She had no intention of sending those girls home, that much I knew.
“Where are we heading now?” I asked.
Puck handed me the book again. “A house on the outskirts of Arcata, California. It’s very remote, in the woods.”
I turned the book to California and found Arcata.
Very small. Only one family. Hostile. Best if left alone. Harmless.
“Hostile and harmless. That doesn’t seem right.”
“I know, and there’s no telling how long ago that description was written. This single family could be huge by now.”
“How long of a drive is it?”
“About six hours. I was going to suggest we find a hotel, but I’m too keyed up to sleep. I’m gonna drive through. Jordan has a place for us to crash. We’ll sleep late tomorrow and then go check out this place.”
“Do you mind if I sleep now?”
He shook his head. I leaned my seat back and found that I couldn’t really sleep either. All I could think about was what those women back in Jena were going through. How many would wake up tomorrow morning in the bed of a man they had no intention of sleeping with?
Naomi
Rose enthusiasts rarely agree on anything, including which rose has the strongest scent. Personally, I think it is the deep pink Kazanlik, named after a town in Bulgaria where they make perfume from its blooms.
I WAS GLAD TO HAVE SUNDAY AND PUCK out of my hair for a few days. I needed to work some things out. Elizabeth and I secured a location for headquarters yesterday, and were meeting with the designer this afternoon. That meant I had all morning to see if my suspicions about my power were correct.
I found out by accident. Course it was possible that it wasn’t me at all. That day at the airport when Julio very nearly snatched Sunday, I willed him not to take her. Maybe he hadn’t planned on kidnapping her at all, but I had a feeling that my unintentional command had greater consequences that even I could comprehend.
I walked out to the pool and found several of Puck’s Minor Guardians playing volleyball with Andrea and Beth. I focused on the boy behind Beth.
Splash Beth, I commanded him.
The reaction was immediate. Beth squealed when he splashed her and she was so distracted by exacting revenge that the ball went flying right past her. Normally I would find such a scene rather funny, but I was too disturbed by what I’d just done. I hadn’t been able to control anyone since I gave the Master Destroyer power to Jason. Did I take too much from Puck?
That didn’t make sense though, because Puck said he couldn’t command his people to do anything. This had to have something to do with the fact that I had a little of both the Master Guardian and the Master Destroyer. Could I command Destroyers to listen to me too? I’d have to try it the next time I found one.
What about Shades?
I looked back over to the volleyball game and saw Beth about to serve.
Drop the ball.
Beth threw the ball in the air and hit it over the net. Hm. I tried Andrea.
Get out of the pool.
She didn’t even look confused. Interesting.
I wondered how many ranks up the chain of command I could control. Jason? Puck? If so, that was far more power than I ever wanted. It always seemed to work that way though. I only wanted to be able to start a group for women to practice openly and suddenly I could control everyone.
But that would also mean I’d have no interference from the men when I announced my plans.
The volleyball game broke up and I saw Beth and the boy who splashed her sneak off behind the greenhouses. Chances were, he was one of Sunday’s old kissing buddies. I shook my head. Andrea came and sat next to me. She squeezed her hair and water ran all over the table in between us.
“I talked to a few of the girls who are still in Tombstone.”
“Oh yeah, how are things going down there?”
“Not good. They don’t want to risk getting caught but they are watching Julio and his group. They can’t interfere because Elizabeth always had the safe house and Beth could modify the memories of the captors. Without that, they are powerless. Nearly twenty girls have had their power removed since we left.”
“It’s only been a couple of days.”
“Exactly. He’s moving much faster now. Either he’s learned how to spot it better or he’s trying to provoke us. My contact said that some of the taken girls barely had any power at all to begin with.”
This was a problem. “Have you heard from Wyatt or Morgan?”
She wrung her hands. “No. Quite frankly, I’m worried. Morgan and I have never gone this long without speaking. We did everything together.”
I reached over and grasped her hand. “They’ll be okay. They are strong Guardians. When Puck comes back, we’ll discuss a rescue mission.”
The house door opened and I looked up. Neal walked out and came to sit in the chair next to me.
Finally.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Good to see you too,” he said, smiling.
“I’m glad to see you, I just wasn’t expecting you to show up in person.”
“Puck called and said he was going to need the council. He asked me to come out early in case we had to do damage control. You sent me a message yesterday, what did you need?”
Andrea tapped me on the shoulder. I’d forgotten she was there.
“I’m gonna go find Beth and tell her we are going to plan a rescue.”
I nodded and then turned back to Neal.
“You lied to me about my Grandma.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh really. And what exactly did I lie about?”
“You said you didn’t really know my grandmother, but you were the Master Guardian before her.”
He nodded. “That doesn’t mean I know that much about her. She barely let me train her. What exactly do you want to know?”
That was the problem, wasn’t it? I had no idea what I wanted to know.
I dropped my eyes. “I’m so confused. I keep hoping there is some magic answer to all my problems and for some reason I feel like the answer lies with her. Elizabeth gave me her journals, but they really don’t tell me anything.”
Neal put his hands behind his head.
“Maybe you just need to talk it out. I can listen.”
I snorted. I couldn’t tell him anything. “Did you know my Grandma wished she’d never been the Master Guardian?”
“Yes. She mentioned that a couple of times. I offered to take it back, but I think she felt responsible for the Guardians at that time and wouldn’t do it.”
“How did Alejandro become the Master Guardian? I thought she was it when she died.”
Neal sighed and looked out at the pool.
“Your Grandmother was sick for awhile. Alejandro went out to Arkansas to see her a few months before she died. She gave him the power then. He wasn’t expecting it.”
“None of this helps me figure out anything.” I put my head in my hands. There was no way I was going to learn what I needed.
Neal touched my arm and I looked up at him.
“Are you worried about you own ability to lead? I know Puck wants you on the council.”
I shrugged. “A little. None of the guys will listen to me.”
Was it possible? Maybe I didn’t need any more answers. Maybe I just needed to jump in feet first and let what ever happened happen. The problem was there were too many variables and too many people. I didn’t know whom I could trust. Even Elizabeth worried me. She said she and Grandma didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things and had a falling out, but she never told me why. Could I trust her? Could I trust anyone?
Sunday
Several cacti have gorgeous flowers that only bloom at night. They are often faint colored or white, but fragrant and large. The most common one is known as the Queen of the Night. I often wonder what else we miss out on while we are sleeping.
I MUST’VE FALLEN ASLEEP AFTER ALL, because the next thing I knew Puck was shaking me awake. I stumbled out of the car and was assaulted by the fresh, salty smell of the ocean. Too bad I couldn’t see it; it was still dark.
Jordan met us at the door of the suite.
“Hey,” I muttered to him, still half asleep.
He took my bag and I followed him into one of the bedrooms, rubbing my eyes.
“Why’s the bed messed up?” I asked.
“Because there are only two bedrooms and I was sleeping, but I’ll go out to the couch.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said, climbing into the bed without bothering to change my clothes. “Come on.”
He hesitated for only a half second before climbing in after me. I snuggled up close to him and he kissed the back of my neck. Suddenly I was no longer sleepy.
He brushed his fingertips along my arms. “I thought you were tired,” he said. “But you look wide awake now.”
I giggled. “You rat, you knew exactly what would happen if you did that.”
He grinned. “I knew no such thing. I was just kissing you goodnight.”
“Yeah, right,” I said and kissed him right on the lips. I dropped a few shields and soon my body was buzzing with warmth and sunshine, and sleep was no more than a fleeting thought.
The next morning I woke up before Jordan and Puck. I knew from experience that both boys would sleep in, so I started the coffee, grabbed my sketchbook, and headed out to the balcony. The hotel was set on a hill and the ocean crashed down below us. It was gorgeous.
The Thorn Chronicles-Books 1-4: Kissed, Destroyed, Secrets, and Lies Page 65