The man raised up his arms and pushed them forwards. Several chairs rose into the air and shot towards us at tremendous speed.
Luke didn’t hesitate. He grabbed my hand and teleported.
It happened in a blink. One moment I was standing by the door with chairs barreling towards me, the next I was back out in the hallway. I felt dizzy. I leaned against the wall as my vision blurred in and out of focus.
Luke was panting. He squinted when he looked at me. “Bianca, I need you to stay out of the way.”
I gritted my teeth. “No way. I’m going to fight with you. I’m not useless. I have training!”
“Not enough.” His voice was firm. “Please, I can’t hold him off if I’m worried about protecting you too. It takes twice the amount of energy for me to teleport another person. If I do it too much, I won’t have energy to fight.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the shut it with a snap.
Ryland came around the corner with his daggers in hand. “Seems like you two could use some help.” He smirked.
I had never been so happy to see him. “That guy from the park is back!” I shrieked.
“I noticed.” Ryland gestured to the ballroom where the power was radiating from. “Alright Luke, ready to take this asshole down once and for all?”
Luke nodded. He turned back to me. “Stay here. Promise me.”
“Fine,” I said. “But don’t get hurt.”
“We’ll do our best. Don’t worry your pretty little head.” Ryland said and then ran off with Luke to fight.
I sank down on the floor. What use was all this training if I wasn’t good enough to help? I could hear sirens approaching. Police and ambulances must have been on their way. Then I remembered Luke’s instructions.
I kicked off my strappy shoes and dashed off through the empty hallway. I hiked up my dress with one hand as I ran towards the washroom to find my purse. The ground rumbled beneath my feet.
When I swung the door open, I found three girls hiding. They were shaking and their makeup was smeared. “Get out of here!” I shouted. “Can’t you see there’s an earthquake?” The lie came out easier than I would have expected.
They screamed and ran out in a flash of multi-colored taffeta and clicking of heels.
My purse was still where I left it beside the sink. I fumbled to find my phone and tapped Mr. Dolinsky’s number.
He picked up on the first ring. “Bianca? Are you safe? Daniel just called me. He said something weird is going down.”
I could hear the sirens on the other side of the phone. “Yes. There’s a psychopath psychic guy in the ballroom. He’s destroying everything.”
“I’m already on my way. I want you to get out of there.” Mr. Dolinsky ordered and then hung up.
I leaned against the counter and let out a shaking breath. The bathroom floor was cold against my throbbing feet. Everything should be fine now. The regular cops were on the way and the FBI. Luke and Ryland could hold him off until then. Right? Somehow I didn’t believe my own reasoning.
Another shake reverberated off the floors and the walls. The lights flickered and then went out with a pop. I was plunged into complete darkness. I took a moment to gather my senses before feeling my way out of the washroom and into the hall which was equally dark. About a moment later, the emergency generator kicked in and dim safety lights glowed above every door.
I followed the dim lights down the hall, keeping one hand on the wall and one clutching the hem of my dress. I laughed at my past self for thinking that prom was going to go off without a hitch. How dare I assume that my new life wouldn’t totally ruin this night for everyone? I would have let out a cynical laugh if I hadn’t been worried about being heard by that psycho.
The sounds of fighting grew louder and louder with every step. I stopped just outside the door, remembering Luke’s instructions. It probably would be the smarter thing to just get the hell out of there and let the professionals do their job. But I couldn’t run away now. This was all my fault, and I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t help them.
I peeked around the door. The ballroom was in ruins. Tables were broken, chairs strewn all over, glasses and plates shattered against the walls. The weird guy continued to hover in place, using his telekinetic powers to throw cutlery and DJ equipment in all directions.
Luke and Ryland were an incredible team, despite their tense relationship. They moved together in perfect rhythm.
I pulled back out of sight and lifted my hand. I focused on a chair that skidded out into the hallway. My fingers twitched, and I felt the hum vibrating in my body. The chair lifted up slowly. I clenched my fist and pushed with all my energy to throw the chair back into the ballroom, aiming directly at the weird guy.
I heard him shout as I hit my mark. I couldn’t help but cheer in my head. Maybe I wasn’t so bad at this after all.
Just as I lifted my hands to attempt throwing a trash can, a voice entered my head.
“We told you to get the hell out of here! I don’t know why, but he wants you. Stay hidden!” It was Ryland’s voice in my head.
I cringed and fell back against the wall. How could he do that? It gave me shivers to think that my thoughts weren’t private around him.
A shout echoed in the ballroom and I peeked around the corner.
The sleazy guy was down, finally. He held up his hands, but the shattered glass did nothing but tremble. His powers were exhausted.
Luke teleported across the room and appeared at his side. He stomped his shoes down on the man’s wrists. “I said, stay down!” He shouted. “You’re not getting away this time.”
In the park, the man had teleported. His powers must have run dry. He didn’t have enough energy to teleport anymore.
Ryland pointed one of his long daggers at the man. “Who are you? What do you want? Who are you working for.”
The man let out a raspy laugh and spat in Ryland’s direction. “Go ahead and kill me. I’ll never tell you.”
My heart froze. Kill? Ryland and Luke couldn’t kill him, could they? We were just students.
Ryland let out a low laugh and wiped the spit from his cheek. “Don’t tempt me.” He brought the dagger closer. “Besides, I don’t need you to talk in order to find out what you know.” He grinned.
The man’s eyes widened in realization and he started shouting nonsense. He sang ABCs, recited the national anthem, anything and everything he could think of to drown out his thoughts and keep Ryland out of his head.
Ryland hissed and kicked the man in the jaw. “Shut up!”
“Ryland, stop!” I shrieked as I ran out of my hiding spot. “Don’t kill him!”
All three looked my way. Luke’s jaw went slack and Ryland glared. “I told you to get out of here.”
“And I want you to get out of my head!” I shot back, clenching my fists and making the shattered glass and tableware clatter against the marble floor.
“Bianca!” Luke shouted. “Get out of here before you get hurt!”
That moment of distraction was all the man needed. With a shout he drew up every last ounce of his energy. His powers ripped the glass from me and shot it in an arch around the room. The tiny shards bit against my skin and tore my dress.
There was a rumble and a pop. The man disappeared. We lost him again.
#
I sat on the curb with a blanket around my shoulders. Ambulance lights flickered red and blue all around me. Most of the students had escaped without more than a bruise or a scrape. There were a few twisted ankles, but that was the worst of the injuries. Ryland, Luke and I were less lucky. The paramedics cleaned and patched up the dozens of tiny cuts from the glass. Ryland and Luke were pretty banged up from the fight, but nothing serious.
“Bianca!” I looked up to see Daniel. He ran to my side and knelt down. “Are you ok? I was so worried.”
I nodded silently and pulled the gray blanket around me tighter. “I’m fine.” My voice was small and weak.
Daniel sat down
beside me on the curb. Most of the students were gone now. “If it makes you feel any better, no one really knows what happened. They think it was an earthquake or something.”
“What do you think?” I asked.
Daniel jerked his head in the direction of two FBI vehicles. “Well, I know better than that, especially when the special units show up.” He shrugged. Blue and red washed over us as the last ambulance pulled away.
Across the parking lot, I could see Inspector Dolinsky talking to Ryland and another older man that I didn’t recognize. Luke appeared from behind one of the vehicles and sat down on my other side. He had a bandage across one of his cheeks.
“Luke! Are you ok?” I asked.
Luke winced as he stretched out his legs. “I’ll be fine.” He had lost his suit jacket at some point during the fight. His white shirt was tattered and bloody.
“It’s all my fault.” I sighed. I was too tired to cry. A headache was pounding in my skull. My mouth tasted like dust and blood.
“It’s not your fault.” Daniel said. “I shouldn’t have said anything about Jessica.”
I looked up. “Jessica! Mia! How are they.”
“Fine. Mia’s dad picked them up when you were in the ambulance getting cleaned up.” Daniel said.
I relaxed a fraction. “Oh. Good.”
“She was so worried about you being stuck in the building.” He added. “Seems she’s not as upset with you as I thought.”
I shook my head. “I’ll make it up to her.”
“Daniel!” Mr. Dolinsky’s voice carried across the parking lot. He motioned at his son.
Daniel sighed. “I guess I need to get going so I can let you guys do your job.” He said and got to his feet. He limped a little when he walked. “I’ll catch up with you after, ok?”
I nodded, my heart breaking a little as I watched him walk away to his dad’s car. My friends were injured because of me. Luke and Ryland could have been killed because of me. Just because I wanted to go to some silly dance. I choked back a sob.
“Hey,” Luke put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be ok. In a few days everyone will forget this even happened.”
“How did they cover it all up?” I asked.
“Probably the same way they made my classmates forget the day I teleported. I don’t know how they do it. But it’s a special unit of FBI, right? They can do anything.” His expression darkened. “Maybe we don’t want to know.”
That made me uneasy.
“Honestly, it will probably be easy. Just say someone spiked the punch, things got out of hand, a stampede ensued and everyone got too wasted to remember. It practically writes itself.” Luke sighed.
I looked up at the night sky. A plane was directly above us, the white and red lights flashing in the blackness. My chest ached. I didn’t know much about this world, but I did know that there was no way I was going to put my friends at risk ever again. This was my fight, and I had to keep them safe.
Next time that weird scum bag guy came for me, he’d regret it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I shouted and let the energy flow through my body. “Hyah!” I kicked out.
Luke dodged my foot and took a step back. “Good job!” He laughed.
I stopped to wipe sweat from my forehead and take a gulp of water. Since prom night, I had become refocused on my training. I convinced the Major to let me spar with Luke and Ryland after my sessions with Ms. Blackwell.
Luke closed the gap between us and my heart fluttered. We hadn’t kissed since prom night. I wanted him so bad, but I didn’t want to make things weird during training. I felt so torn. My body and my mind were fighting each other and my heart was caught somewhere in the middle.
The training room door opened and two guys I didn’t know walked in. They nodded at Luke and continued past the accordion doors to find their own space. There seemed to be a strange segregation between groups of psychics based on their skills. In the week I had been here full time, I had only spoken to Luke, Phylicia, and Ryland.
Ryland was as cold and indifferent as ever. He was still pissed at me for messing up the fight at prom and letting that guy get away. No matter how many times he swore he wasn’t actually going to kill that guy, I didn’t believe him. His powers were strange and strong. I still didn’t understand everything that he could do and it didn’t look like he was going to reveal his secrets anytime soon.
Luke stretched and threw the quarterstaff he was using down onto the mat. “I think we should take a break, Bianca.” He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.
I was relieved when he admitted to getting tired. Sparring was very different from using my powers with Ms. Blackwell. This was hand to hand combat, something that I had zero experience in before. Growing up, people assumed because I looked Asian that I could kick their ass with my innate knowledge of martial arts, but I had never even thrown a punch until I started training.
I nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. I’m starving.”
#
After a shower, I met up with Phylicia in the cafeteria. She had taken back her usual spot with the singe marks on the table. She had a book in one hand and a sandwich in the other. She looked up with a smile.
“Hey Phylicia,” I sat down and set a large portion of pizza and fries down in front of me. I had never eaten so much before in my life. Of course, I had never worked out so much before either.
“What’s up girl? You look beat!”
I nodded. I was still waiting on my exam marks from high school. I had been pulling all nighters studying and training. Now that was finally over. Mr. Dolinsky and the Major said they were working through some “confidential details” on their end before I was set up in the dorms, which meant being chauffeured back and forth every day as well.
My parents hadn’t asked any questions, so I didn’t say anything either. Once all the details were set, I’d be moving in on campus. I was actually looking forward to that now.
“How’s training going?” Phylicia asked as she closed her book.
I shrugged. “I think it’s going well, honestly. But it’s draining me. I’m so tired all the time.”
Phylicia made a sound of understanding. “It gets easier.”
“That’s what everyone’s been saying,” I laughed.
I felt a prickle on the back of my neck and looked up. Ryland was standing by the door and staring at me. I looked away, but I could still sense his presence. He barely spoke to me outside of training; even training and sparring seemed like a chore to him. Part of me wanted to break down his walls and the other half wanted to flip him the bird.
No one really paid much attention to me at all now that the “new girl” label had worn off. Phylicia swore it was because I spent time with her and she had been shunned due to her unique powers.
I glanced up again and Ryland was still staring at me. I sighed. “I’ll be right back, ok?”
Phylicia’s eyes went from me, down the long tables and to the doors where Ryland was standing. “Oh, boy trouble? Be careful with that one, alright?” She warned. “He leaves broken hearts wherever he goes.”
I snorted. “Yeah, don’t worry about that. We’re not exactly on good terms right now. I’m pretty sure he’d rather get me expelled than take me out on a date.” I threw my gym bag over my shoulder and walked towards him.
Ryland didn’t so much as flinch when I glared at him. “What?” I demanded.
“I needed to talk to you,” He said.
“Can’t you come sit with me like a normal person?”
Ryland frowned. “I was trying to send you a message. It seems that you can’t always hear me.”
I growled and stomped out of the cafeteria to avoid making a scene. He followed me. “Can’t you stay out of my head?” I shouted.
His cold indifference didn’t so much as crack. I knew he had emotions; I had seen them firsthand. Now he was like a blank slate every time we spoke. Was he really still pissed about the prom night incident? How immature. O
ut of everyone, his injuries were the least serious. Not even a shred of glass had scratched his god-like face.
“Well, that’s the problem. I can barely get in,” Ryland said.
My mouth fell open. “Do you not get how weird it is for me knowing that you’re trying to read my mind all the time. Or how much it freaks me out when I hear your voice in my head. I get that you need to train, but I want you to leave me out of it.”
Ryland crossed his arms over his broad chest. His biceps flexed against his tight black shirt. “Fine,” He said. “I guess you don’t want to hear that the Major finally approved your file and you can move in tomorrow.”
I gasped. My anger melted away into a weird ball of excitement and dread. “Tomorrow? What about my parents? How am I going to tell them?”
Ryland rolled his eyes. “Don’t you know that the secret service can do pretty much anything they want? I figured you’d at least get that by now.”
I had never met someone who irked me as much as him. I bit back the snide remark at the tip of my tongue. “I’m going to see the Major.” I pushed past him and made my way down the hall without looking back.
“Enjoy your last night at home,” Ryland called after me.
His words set chills down my spine.
#
It felt so good to go to sleep. I passed out almost immediately after getting home. When I woke up the next morning, I felt refreshed and a lot less tense than I had been after training. It was Saturday, so there was nothing going on at the academy for me. Even psychics took the weekends off.
The Major had explained to me that I’d be moving today. I still had no idea how it was going to happen, but I packed my bag anyway. I didn’t need much besides some casual clothes and the usual girly stuff. The academy provided all of our training uniforms and our classroom uniforms looked pretty much identical, but with less spandex. Everything was black, cut close to the body and meant for quick movement. Every time I got dressed in my training gear I felt a tiny bit like a spy from the cheesy comics that Daniel always read when we were in junior high.
Psychic Secret: An Urban Fantasy Academy Romance (Psychic Academy Book 1) Page 8