Fractured Truth (19 page)

“I’d like that.” She looked over at me. “Llona?”

“I’ve got to go to class, but I’ll come see you later. Make sure you get that tour.”

She nodded once and turned around after Dr. Han. I walked back into the dining room and snagged Ashlyn out of her chair in passing, and then we both sat at Tessa and Kiera’s table.

“What are you so worked up over?” Ashlyn said as she adjusted her long sleeve where I had been tugging.

“This is about May, isn’t it?” Tessa asked.

Kiera leaned forward on the table, her hands in fists. “We’re going after her, right?”

I swept my hair back away from my face. “You guys don’t get it. It wasn’t like there were a handful of Vykens or even twenty for that matter. There were at least a hundred.”

“So what are we going to do?” Ashlyn said. “We can’t just let our friends rot there.”

“I agree. So here’s my question. How soon do you think we can get all these girls ready to fight?”

They looked around the room. Kiera was shaking her head sadly. “Months probably, especially the younger ones.”

“What if we trained for several hours a day?”

Kiera looked back at me. “If we can get the older ones training hard, then maybe a matter of weeks.”

“Too long,” Ashlyn said.

I agreed. “It’s got to be sooner.”

Tessa and Kiera were silent, both staring down at their plates of half-eaten breakfast. I knew what they were thinking: I was pushing too hard.

“Look,” I said, “just start training. I’ll be there to help too. We’ll tell the girls what’s going on, and maybe that will help.”

“You’re finally going to tell them everything?” Kiera asked. “Specifically that Vykens are using our friends as feeders?”

She’d wanted us to do this for some time, but Dr. Han felt it would be too much for them to handle with everything else. I might’ve agreed then, but not so much anymore. Whether it was the darkness I’d brought to the surface earlier, or the fact that I was tired of hiding things, I said, “Yes. Everything.”

Kiera smiled. “Good. I think that will help.”

She moved to stand up, but I stopped her. “There’s something I didn’t tell you guys last night.”

“What’s that?” Tessa asked.

“Christian’s alive.”

Ashlyn dropped a spoon she’d been spinning in her hand. It clattered against a plate, making the rest of us jump.

“How is this possible?” Tessa asked.

“Christian’s a Vyken,” I said. The words felt all wrong, like saying the sun was blue and the sky yellow. My stomach twisted into something rotten. “Cyrus bit him.”

“But we can save him, right?” Tessa asked. “He can be like you and Liam.”

“It’s too late for that.”

Kiera placed her arm on mine. “It’s never too late. We’ll go rescue him, along with May and the others. You’ll see.”

“I wish it was that simple. He’s one of them now.”

“How can you be so sure?” Tessa asked.

“Yeah,” Kiera said, “he could be playing them. You know, making them think he’s working with them when he’s really helping us. I can see him doing something like that.”

Ashlyn was still staring, mouth open.

“I wish there was still hope, more than you know, but Christian is the one who broke my leg. He was going to kill Liam too.” A hot rage, one that had burned the edges of my mind ever since I realized Christian’s betrayal, ignited throughout me, giving me a dark and foreign strength. And then I said something I never thought I’d say. “First chance I get, I’m going to kill him.”

“That’s everything I know,”
I said and looked around at all the girls. There were at least thirty of them sitting on the floor in the training room. A few of them were crying. The others were pale and wide-eyed.

Ashlyn leaned over and whispered, “I think you made some of them wet themselves.”

“Are there any questions?” Kiera asked. Her voice was gentle, something I rarely heard. Maybe I did go too far.

A girl with dark hair raised her hand. I remembered her name was Maggie. She was sixteen. “Yes, Maggie?”

“Why are you telling us this?”

A girl next to her said, “Because she wants us to go rescue them.”

“When you’re ready,” Ashlyn said, standing up from her chair.

I joined her. “There’s not enough time for you all to be ready.”

“It’s a suicide mission,” Maggie said, her voice rising. Many of the girls nodded in agreement.

“You guys don’t get it, do you?” I said. “You think Cyrus is done with us? You think he’s making more Vykens because it’s fun?” I let my questions sink in before I added, “Cyrus is coming back, and he’s going to finish what he started. This isn’t just about saving the others; it’s about saving all of us. Our race. The time is now. Are you ready?”

A couple of older girls in the back stood up. A few more joined her. It wasn’t long until all the Auras were standing, a third of them grumbling, but still.

We trained hard that day. Mason and a few of the other Guardians, including Alex, didn’t hold back and pushed them to the point of exhaustion. They taught the girls many different fighting techniques, but the one they seemed to excel at the most was tae kwon do. Because of how little time we had, Mason instructed the others to focus on this technique.

Four groups of girls rotated in, and with each group I had to explain everything all over again. I encountered little opposition. At the end of each class, I instructed them to come back just before dinner so we could focus on using Light as a weapon.

At one point Dr. Han came by with Rose. She had cleaned up and looked much better but still held sadness in her eyes. It would probably be there for the rest of her life. I didn’t stop teaching to talk to them, but waved and continued working with a young girl. They watched for a few minutes before finally leaving.

The chimes sounded, indicating the final class of the day. As soon as the girls had exited, Ashlyn made a strange sound with her mouth and fell over backward onto a mat. “I’m exhausted,” she said.

Kiera tossed a bottle of water at her, nearly hitting her in the stomach. “Drink up, pansy.” She came over to me. “That was pretty intense, but did you see how quickly they were learning?”

“It’s their Light. It’s helping.”

Ashlyn sat up. “Can we take a break before we start up again?”

“Of course. I’m sure it will be a little while until the girls return anyway since classes just ended.”

But as soon as I said that, a few girls showed up. One of them, a pretty girl with red hair, asked, “You’re still going to train us, right?”

“As much as you want. Come on in.”

“What about our break?” Ashlyn said.

Kiera walked over to her and helped her up. “You go. I’ll work with these girls, but come back soon. I have a feeling there are going to be more of them and soon.”

She was right. Within ten minutes the room was full and more girls were coming. I tried to hang onto the darkness that kept me strong and emotionless, but seeing all these Auras so willing to learn warmed my soul. Finally they believed in their potential.

Because there were so many, we took to training them outside, facing the wall surrounding Lucent. I divided the girls into four groups, putting Kiera, Ashlyn, and two other older girls—Jessica and Rylee, who had been training with us since the beginning—to oversee each group. I walked among them, assisting where needed.

Unlike I did in the beginning, these girls knew how to create a tangible ball of light. The only problem was they couldn’t get it to cause any damage. The moment their Light hit an obstacle, it dissipated.

“There has to be a force behind it,” I said loud enough for all to hear.

“But we’re throwing it as hard as we can,” a girl said, clearly frustrated. She looked to be about fourteen. Sweat dotted her forehead. I’d forgotten how much concentration this took.

“It’s not a physical force,” Kiera said. “It’s mental. You have to want to destroy something.”

“But I don’t want to destroy anything.”

Walking as if she were igniting the world on fire, Ashlyn came to her and said, “But you do want to save those Auras, right? Save Valerie? Anna?”

“Of course,” she stuttered, “but I just don’t know how.”

“Get pissed.”

I placed my hand on Ashlyn’s arm to calm her down. “It’s not just about getting angry. It’s about fighting for a cause, a
good and just one. That is what your Light wants. This is when it is at its best.” I turned to the others. “All of you line up, shoulder to shoulder, facing the wall.”

The girls slowly did as I asked, some of them looking skeptical. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually they formed a long line. “Good. Now close your eyes. Come on. I’m serious.” I waited until everyone’s eyes closed before I spoke again. “Now breathe. In and out, real slow. While you’re breathing, I want you to feel the breeze on your skin. Focus on the ground beneath your feet. Good. Keep breathing. Now think of someone extremely close to you. Someone you love above all others. Picture their face. Hear their voice. Feel their touch.” I paused when I spotted Liam and Charlie, who must’ve arrived from the Deific, watching us near the entrance to the school. Rose wasn’t with them, which made me feel a little guilty. I had told her I’d come see her soon. I glanced back to the girls; they all seemed deep in thought.

I said, “Now imagine this person in danger. What would you do to save their life?” I couldn’t help but think of Christian. Was he really beyond saving? The darkness lingering at the edges of my mind answered for me.

“Create Light in your hand,” I said. “When I say ‘open your eyes,’ toss it at the wall as hard as you can. Remember, this is for the person you love.” I looked down the line, waiting until I saw Light in every girl’s palm. “Open your eyes!”

The girls’ eyes opened and Light was thrown faster than I expected. It tore through the air, as powerful as bolts of lightning in a tropical storm, until it crashed into the wall, spraying shards of rock in all directions. The sound was deafening. No one said anything for what felt like a very long time, but then Ashlyn burst into laughter, followed by Kiera. Soon everyone was cheering and laughing.

I grinned and walked over to Kiera. “I better get back to Rose. You got this?”

“I’ve never had so much fun. We’ll keep going until dark.”

I looked up. The sun was just beginning to set, spraying streaks of oranges and reds across a clear sky.

“Go on,” she said. “It looks like they’re waiting for you anyway.”

I turned around. Liam and Charlie were still there. I inhaled deeply and went to them.

“That was impressive,” Charlie said.

“Did Rose tell you everything?” I asked, continuing by them into the school. They followed behind, Liam staying farther back.

“She did.”

“And about the school being protected as long as Cyrus doesn’t come on the grounds?”

“Yes, and that’s good, but it sounds like we have to get that ruby back if we want a long-term solution,” Charlie said.

“Any plans?”

He smiled and winked at me. “One I think you’ll like. It doesn’t involve any Auras.” I glanced over at Liam. He too seemed pleased.

I turned the corner toward Dr. Han’s office. “Really? What?” Even though the girls had been training hard, they still weren’t ready for any kind of a big fight. I welcomed any plan that might protect them.

“We’re going to trade Rose for the ruby.”

I rocked back on my heels, stopping my forward motion. “That’s the worst plan ever. You can’t seriously be considering it.”

Charlie was about to say more, but the sound of an angry woman’s voice echoed into the hall from Dr. Han’s office. I hurried over.

“This is unacceptable!” she was saying. “It’s a disgrace to Lucent Academy and all it represents.”

I came to the doorway and looked in. Ms. Hady, the PE teacher, was talking—more like yelling—to Dr. Han, her back to me. Dr. Han looked at me over her shoulder. She saw and turned around.

“You!” she said and stormed over to me. I imagined a category five tornado behind her. “You have destroyed everything!”

It took great effort, but I managed to stay calm. “What are you so afraid of?”

She didn’t seem to hear me. “There’s not going to be anything left. You’re going to get these girls killed.”

“I’m trying to protect them.”

“Is that what you think you’re doing?” She looked back at Dr. Han. “Do you realize that Lucent didn’t have any problems until she arrived?”

“That’s not true,” he said. “Cyrus had been an imposter for a very long time. That had nothing to do with Llona. In fact, if it wasn’t for her, he might still be running this school.”

“Would that have been so bad?” she asked, her voice growing small.

No one said anything.

“Did you see what they did to the wall?” she asked. “Everything’s changing.”

I placed my hand on her shoulder. “For the better.”

She shrugged it off. “Don’t touch me. Ever.” She pushed by me and shoved her way between Liam and Charlie.

“Ms. Hady!” I called.

“Let her go,” Dr. Han said.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset her.”

“The wall, Llona. Wasn’t that a bit much?”

I grinned. “Did you see it?”

“No, but I heard it.”

Charlie came into the room. Liam stayed back in the doorway. I continued to avoid eye contact with him, wanting to stay strong and unemotional.

“Where’s Rose?” I asked.

“She’s staying in one of the spare rooms near Abigail’s office.”

“Good, because someone has some explaining to do. There’s no way we’re trading Rose for that ruby.”

They all looked at each other and smiled.

“There’s something we need to tell you,” Charlie said.

“It better be good.”

Charlie patted me on the back. “I promise you won’t be disappointed.”

After checking on Rose, who
was already asleep despite it only being eight o’clock, I headed up to my room, going over everything Dr. Han had told me. If what he said was true, then we should be able to get the ruby with no one getting hurt, specifically Rose. It was a good plan.

I stopped briefly at May’s door and peeked in, hoping that maybe she had secretly returned or escaped, whatever the case may have been. The room was still empty. And cold. I left, taking with me more anger and hatred for Cyrus, Christian—all of them.