Vivid Avowed (The Evelyn Maynard Trilogy Book 3)

by Kaydence Snow

  “Because you threatened her. Threatened me!” For the first time, I let him get to me, my own anger rising. He smirked, just a tiny twist of his mouth. Josh’s hand landed on my shoulder, giving it a squeeze that was both comforting and restraining.

  “I simply explained to her what needed to happen next. She could’ve been by my side, my queen, as I built my empire. You could’ve been my princess. But that bitch chose to run. So this is how it has to be. She started it, and you’re going to end it. Kind of poetic, don’t you think?”

  “You delayed finishing your masterpiece of machinery for poetry?” I scoffed.

  He didn’t like being mocked; his hands curled into fists. “You are the fruit of my loins. How could I move forward without your submission? I mean to have supreme power over all things, Evelyn! Including you! It has to be you!”

  When he was done with his little tantrum, we all fell into silence for a few moments. Davis’s entourage shuffled farther away from him; even his armed guards threw cautious looks over their shoulders. With them all spread out a bit more, I noticed another familiar face.

  “Karen?” My eyes widened, and I slapped my palms on the table and pushed myself up. The woman who was in charge of my training and testing at Melior Group, the one who was as excited as me about the science side of Variants, the one who’d been kind to me—she was right there, standing at Davis’s side. Was she there against her will? Had he kidnapped her in an attempt to get to me? Maybe he was blackmailing her?

  Karen smiled at me, her lips a thin line, but it was Davis who answered my unspoken questions. “I assure you, Karen is here of her own free will. We’ve been working together for a long time. You see, we have the same goals when it comes to empowering the Variant community. She’s been quite the useful resource.”

  He smiled at her, and she beamed, wide-eyed, as if she were a puppy and he was dangling a piece of chicken in front of her.

  I couldn’t believe it. I’d been half-convinced Victor Flint was the mole in Melior Group, but Karen had the highest level of clearance too. She could just as easily have gained access to all the information that was leaked.

  I’d been fooled again. Was I so desperate for friendship, human connection of any kind, that I blindly trusted anyone who showed me any kindness?

  “What do you want, Damari? How exactly do you think this is going to end?” Tyler still had his gun pointed, as did Alec and everyone else in the room. You could cut the tension with a hacksaw. But why was Tyler pushing him? To break the stalemate?

  Davis spread his arms wide. “You summoned me here. What is it you want?”

  “I want you to die,” I declared without even thinking.

  Davis chuckled. “So dramatic. But since we’re on the topic, here’s how this is going to go. You summoned me here, dear daughter, and here I am to collect you. You will come with me, you will cooperate, and you will help me complete my machine. In exchange, I’ll let your Variants live.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Well, then everyone dies.”

  “In case you haven’t noticed, we have just as many guns pointed at you as you have at us. What makes you think you’d be able to walk out unscathed?”

  “I think I can help with that.” Dana sauntered in from around the corner. She was in jeans and a skin-tight tank top, all her curves accentuated, her silky blonde hair tamed in a braid.

  Walking in step with her, their hands clasped, was Zara.

  I took an involuntary step back. It felt as if someone had stabbed me just under the ribs and twisted the knife. I could understand Dana not wanting to be involved in this fight, wanting to steer clear of trouble, but to go out of her way to thwart us? To work with Davis? To break Zara out and bring her here to betray me again? It was just so cruel.

  Davis gave her a wide smile and waited patiently until they were standing next to him.

  “Fucking bitch,” Alec growled, tightening his grip on his gun. I knew he wanted to shoot her in the face, but he was smart enough to resist the impulse. If he started firing, everyone would start firing.

  “Why?” I hated how hurt I sounded.

  “Aww, poor naive little Eve,” Dana cooed, a cruel tilt to her mouth. “Haven’t you learned by now not to trust everyone who says they’re your friend? I thought you were supposed to be smart.”

  Zara snorted and picked at her nails.

  “I’m gonna kill you both!” Dot launched forward, but she’d barely taken a step before Charlie wrapped his arms around her middle and picked her clean off the floor, her feet kicking. Kyo and Marcus stepped in, placing themselves between her and Davis.

  Everyone tensed, but thankfully, no one fired. With Dana neutralizing everyone’s abilities, we were all equally vulnerable. Josh wouldn’t be stopping any bullets, let alone all of them.

  “Thank you for bringing her back to us, Dana.” Davis lifted his hand and caressed Zara’s cheek with the backs of his fingers.

  “Yes, I’m so glad you’re OK, darling,” Zara’s mom rushed out. Apparently now that Davis had welcomed her daughter back into the fold, it was OK for her to do the same. Twisted bitch.

  For the first time since they walked in, I saw a crack in Zara’s sarcastic mask. She covered it quickly, but her free hand started to twitch—little, jerky movements, just like when I was in a cage begging her to help me save Josh’s life. When had she slipped back into her delusions? Had she ever truly turned against Davis, or was it all an elaborate lie?

  Zara ignored her mom, practically speaking over her. “I’m sorry I ran away. I was . . . confused.”

  “Water under the bridge.” Davis’s focus was still on her. “You were my first creation. You’re more of a daughter to me than Evelyn ever was.”

  I rolled my eyes. Was that supposed to make me feel jealous?

  “You’re about to make up for it, aren’t you?” The smile Davis gave her then was nothing short of deranged, and the one she gave him back was just as unhinged. “But first things first. Dana.”

  “Right.” Dana dropped Zara’s hand. “I’ll wait in the car or something,” she deadpanned, then walked off at a leisurely pace.

  The exact moment Dana was far enough away to no longer be blocking anyone’s ability, electricity started to flitter along Zara’s skin, every twitch of her hand eliciting a little spark. Everyone took a collective breath. Her ability was volatile, and she’d had little to no training with it. Josh’s telekinesis wouldn’t do shit to stop Zara’s electricity. If she could focus enough to direct it at any of us, we were fucked.

  Davis had the upper hand. Again. Because despite my impressive IQ, I’d done something colossally stupid. Again.

  “I meant what I said, Eve.” The crazy look disappeared from Zara’s eyes, replaced with sincerity and determination. The twitching stopped, and electricity that had flickered over her a moment ago now rushed with purpose to her still hand. “I fucked up. But I learn from my mistakes.”

  “No!” Davis roared, raising his arm as if to punch her. He’d read what she was about to do, but he was too late to stop it.

  Zara turned to face him fully and, before he could land his punch, lunged forward, pressing her electrified hand against his chest.

  He roared in pain, every muscle in his body tense as the electricity coursed through him.

  His goons hesitated, confused by the fact that none of the people they were pointing guns at had done anything. Half of them turned to check what Davis was screaming about, losing sight of their targets.

  It was enough for us to act. Tyler and Alec fired off several shots in rapid succession, as did Kyo and Marcus.

  Zara’s mom lunged, clamping her arms around her daughter’s waist and tackling her to the ground. Once the electricity released Davis, he swayed, his eyes droopy, but managed to stay upright.

  In the same instant, my legs moved, my instincts carrying me forward. I stepped onto the chair, then onto the table, took two running strides, and launched myself int
o the air, aiming straight for Davis.

  As I sailed through the air, my skin started to glow, filling me with Light and confidence and illuminating the dark space. Almost immediately, the sensation of Josh’s ability tugged on my body, and my heart sank. Of course they wouldn’t want me anywhere near that maniac! But instead of yanking me back into his strong embrace, it gave me an extra push.

  I would’ve landed short, but with Josh’s help, I barreled directly into Davis. We fell hard, my left elbow crunching against the concrete and making me cry out in pain. But I didn’t stop, didn’t pause to cradle my aching limb. I found exposed skin on his right forearm, wrapped my hands around it, and pulled.

  I’d never pulled Light so forcefully before. All my focus was on the pure, unadulterated power surging into me, the Light-fueled instincts telling me to just hold on.

  “No! Stop! How is this possible?” A frantic voice drew my attention. Gina stood a few feet away, staring at me intently. Karen and a few other Variants huddled around her, seeking the protection of her shielding ability.

  “She’s not using an ability.” Dot took measured steps forward, Charlie and Kyo close behind her with guns pointed. Dot’s eyes were narrowed, looking for someone to hurt. “You can’t block her.”

  Before Gina could answer, Dot sprang forward and landed a punch right to her nose. As blood started to pour down Gina’s front, the birds returned, lifting messy wisps of Dot’s black hair as they sailed past her, straight for Gina. The woman screamed but was completely engulfed.

  With Gina eliminated, the other Variants were left vulnerable, but of course, Davis always had another plan.

  More people poured into the area, guns raised, abilities ready. I couldn’t focus on them enough to know if they were ours or theirs. The last bits of Davis’s stolen Light streamed easily into me. It felt like a relief, as if the Light had been waiting for someone to beckon it away from its usurper.

  When the last tendrils left Davis’s body, I gasped and let go of his arm. The power surging through me was terrifying—it was difficult to stand under its weight. I looked around for help, but my throat felt tight, and I couldn’t seem to unclench my teeth. My skin was glowing so brightly some people were shielding their eyes.

  But it wasn’t just me creating so much light. Ethan stood with his broad back to me, his arms raised, commanding a wall of fire. Rising twenty feet into the air and burning a furious blue, it encased the three of us, protecting us from whatever chaos was happening out there.

  There was a massive tear in the back of Ethan’s T-shirt, and the exposed corded muscle strained with the effort of keeping the wall up. He was burning through Light quickly, but I couldn’t transfer to him. Not yet, not alone. Instinctively I knew that if I transferred to any of them, they would end up with Davis’s mind-reading ability.

  I followed the blue flames up, taking in the sheer scale of what he was capable of. Above us, Josh was flying, hovering close by while making throwing movements with his hands. Crashing and banging followed the gestures.

  Failing to get to my feet, I finally looked down at my father.

  I had no idea if draining his stolen ability would kill him, and I’d done it without a moment’s hesitation. It was time to find out if I’d just committed patricide.

  He was prone on his back, his eyes closed, his head to one side. I couldn’t tell if he was breathing or not. I leaned forward, reaching out to check for a pulse.

  Before my hand connected with his neck, he took a giant breath, his eyes flying open as he shot up into a sitting position. He breathed hard for a few seconds, his eyes darting about and then, finally, landing on me.

  “No,” he breathed, pressing his hand to his chest. “What did you do?” he roared into my face. “Give it back! Give it back to me now, you stupid bitch!”

  He lunged for me, and I didn’t have the strength to fight him. My back hit the floor hard, knocking the air out of me, and we slid back dangerously close to Ethan’s fire wall.

  Davis started slapping and hitting me, his movements jerky and messy as he shouted incoherent things into my face. I barely had enough strength to lift my arms and protect my head from some of his blows, but I refused to let my hold on the Light slip. To come this far and then end up accidentally transferring his ability back to him would be tragic.

  He smelled like sweat and desperation, the foul odor mixing with the metallic tang of blood in the air.

  Searing pain exploded in my side, my shoulder, my neck, my temple. My vision blurred. I was vaguely conscious of several voices calling my name.

  I searched for a way out—something, anything to make the blows stop.

  But I had no chance. I could hardly move as he kept taking all his madness, all his fear and anger and inadequacy, out on me. He’d been doing that my whole life in one way or another.

  He reared back onto his knees, one on either side of my torso, and backhanded me. My cheek burned and my ears started to ring.

  With my head turned, I could see Ethan frantically looking between me and something in front of him, his arms still raised to hold up the fire wall as protection from whatever was the bigger threat on the other side. Josh hovered just over Ethan’s left shoulder, bullets coming within inches of his face before falling to the ground. So many bullets.

  I couldn’t hear it over the ringing in my ears, but I could see Ethan yelling, his eyes wide.

  Was he calling for help? Telling me to hold on? I supposed it didn’t matter anymore.

  Davis’s hands circled my neck and squeezed.

  I doubled my own chokehold on the ability I refused to let him have again. Even if he killed me, I’d die knowing I took from him what was never his to begin with. I’d die knowing I’d crippled him.

  I refused to look at Davis. I didn’t want my last image of this world to be his ugly, hateful face as he choked the life out of me.

  Instead, I kept my gaze on the beautiful rage of the blue flames.

  Thirty-Two

  As though I’d summoned him, Alec burst through the fire.

  He ran at full speed, taking the scene in and reacting with precision. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger, but it was empty. Without missing a step, he threw it aside, dropped a shoulder, and tackled Davis off me.

  They crashed into some furniture beyond the fire wall, and Davis’s screams filled the air.

  I took spluttering, excruciating breaths, my lungs burning as they filled once again with air.

  Tyler burst through the flames a second later, gun raised, the look on his face feral. Blood was running down one side of his face, and his right shirtsleeve had completely ripped off. He lowered the gun and rushed straight to me just as Josh landed at his side.

  I managed to lift myself onto my elbow and hold my other arm out. “Stop,” I croaked, the word sending a hundred razor blades down my throat. They both paused inches from me and crouched down. Their eyes raked over my body, but they kept their hands back as I coughed and spluttered through the pain. “Need to touch you all at once.”

  Tyler nodded, but an abrupt escalation in noise distracted all of us. We couldn’t really see past the blue fire wall, but it sounded as if more people had joined the fight.

  “What’s going on out there?” Tyler checked how many bullets he had left, then slammed the magazine back into the gun.

  “A bunch of humans just showed up,” Josh answered. “I saw them coming and flew down to get to Eve.”

  “Humans? As in, civilians?” Tyler looked aghast as Josh nodded. We had some humans with us, but they were trained and knew how to handle themselves. A bunch of civilians would get slaughtered.

  I’m not sure if Ethan had the same thought or if he’d just had enough of not being able to get to me, but he roared and threw his hands out. The blue wall of fire separated into a thousand fireballs and shot out in every direction.

  The fire was so intense that Ethan’s targets didn’t even have a chance to scream before they dropped to the ground in a s
moking, charred mess. He’d executed the maneuver perfectly; only Davis’s men had been hit. Everyone else in the room stopped to catch their breath.

  The only sound now came from Davis, his screams of pain echoing in the vast space.

  Ethan turned to me but swayed. His big body toppled to the ground. He reached for me, eyes drooping, then passed out.

  Pain instantly tore into my chest. They were all running low. Now that I was paying attention, I could tell they’d all just about reached their limits, but that last stunt had pushed Ethan over the edge. He needed Light. Now.

  “Eth . . . Ethan . . .” The massive burden of the Light inside me weighted me down so much I could hardly speak. It was begging, demanding to be released. I reached out to him, but I couldn’t risk touching him, not without touching them all.

  We needed Alec.

  But Alec was still pummeling my father, lost in his rage.

  Josh rushed to Ethan’s side, checking for injuries. I looked up at Tyler, gritting my teeth with the effort of controlling all the Light, and hoped the pleading look in my eyes was enough to convey what I needed.

  Tyler looked in Alec’s direction, shouting his name.

  Alec was kneeling over Davis, landing punch after punch to his face, ribs, anywhere his fists could connect. Fountains of blood sprayed in gruesome bursts every time Alec’s fists connected. I couldn’t be sure how much was my father’s and how much belonged to the Master of Pain.

  By some miracle, Davis was still conscious, screaming between blows. That’s how Alec must’ve been keeping him awake—just enough pain inflicted by his ability to keep his adrenaline pumping and his mind still connected to his body.

  Or maybe he was screaming from the pain of the burns. Being pushed through Ethan’s fire wall had left half of Davis’s face a gruesome, charred mess, with a black hole where his eye used to be. The right side of his body was almost as bad. The smoking flesh seemed to be fused with the fabric of his clothing.