New Sight (27 page)

“Lys,” Ayden said. “The runes.”

Allowing her hundred-pound eyelids to close, Lys pulled up the mental picture of the sound symbols and infused them into the magic that burst from Kamau’s sister toward the bowl.

It must have worked again because Ayden said, “Inez, you’re up. Can you feel the taste magic?”

Inez muttered under her breath.

“Draw it back to you.”

Lys opened her eyes and forced her head up so she could look across at Inez. The other girl stood wide-eyed with her lips pressed together. Jagged, dark magic rained down on her from above, almost like lightning strikes.

“How much of this do I have to take in?” Inez asked, gasping for breath.

“Until there’s no more,” Ayden said.

Inez shook her head, but gritted her teeth. More magic came back to her, and she started to glow red.

“Lys,” Ayden said.

Lys didn’t care if they won. She didn’t care about anything but being filled with magic again.

“Be strong,” Kamau said in her ear. “You have to finish this.”

Irritation caused her to shoot the symbols into the magic for Inez. How dare Kamau betray her, come back, and think that he could use his magic on her. Not only that, she could feel his body heat, as if he stood within inches of her.

“Leave me alone,” she managed to say.

He didn’t get a chance to retort. The magic surged beneath their feet, shocking Lys back toward normalcy. Before her, the plug bowed up, like someone was pushing on it from under the ground.

The surge cleared Lys’s head enough so she could think. She remembered the scene she saw from the book. “Everyone hold their part.”

“Not sure how long that will last,” Inez said.

Lys looked over at Brady. “You have to use touch to seal it,” she said. “Can you do it?”

He nodded, his long, pale face already covered in sweat. Lys recalled how hard it had been for him to control his magic before this. She bit her lip as he closed his eyes.

The ground rumbled, and Lys saw rivers of magic being pulled back through the arch and into Brady. She felt her own magic spark back to life, and the oppressive emptiness retreated a step. In her mind, images of everything around her filled the wall of television sets. Once again, some were her, others showed her the world as it was now, and yet others whispered of a new future, where no one blew up volcanoes.

“Hold the plugs,” Brady said, his voice rich and deep, like he belonged with the ancient stones. “Just a few more seconds.” He glowed like a spectral ghost. The light from the seal now looked like it resided inside of Brady. The magic swirled around him in oily, black clouds, attached to him with tendrils of golden light from the plug.

Lys pulled her attention from the images in her mind and turned it toward the sight plug. The energy beneath it tried to throw off the seal, but Lys held it firm, using pure willpower to keep it from breaking.

“That’s it, almost there,” Brady said.

One perspective from her mind drew her attention. Lys saw them all at the arch, just like they were now. But she saw herself from behind. She stood, yanking Kamau’s sister up with her. Brady pulled away from the others. Inez yelled something. Brady shook his head, smiled and threw himself onto the plug.

Sounds from the here and now filled her ears.

“Brady? What are you doing?” Inez asked, the pitch of her voice rising.

“I can’t stop. Not now. I need the magic. You know how it feels.”

Lys knew how it felt—the elation followed by the dark abyss. To have everything and then feel like you have nothing. It was too much.

“Please,” Inez said through a sob. “Please. Try to stop.”

“I can’t. I want to keep it, and if I give it up, I’ll always want it back. I told you I could fix it, I just didn’t mention that I would die.”

Lys’s eyes shot open. She stood, pulling the young girl beside her to her feet. “No!” Lys shouted, realizing that she’d seen the future a moment before.

Brady yanked his hands free, his body still pulsing with power.

“What are you doing?” Inez asked, grabbing for his hand.

Brady shook his head and smiled. “I love you. Remember that.”

Before anyone could move, Brady stepped into the hole.

Chapter 34

“No!” Inez
screamed, reaching for Brady, but he was gone. For a moment nothing happened, then a force like the wind, only made of energy and magic, shot straight up from the outlet. It flowed through the hole at the apex of the arch, filling the sky, strangling the magic already there. The edges of the outlet began to crackle and spider web.

“Get back!” Ayden yelled to Inez.

Inez didn’t move. She looked into the outlet, tears streaming down her face. “No,” she said again.

The flow of magic slowed and the crawling vines dimmed. The light pulsed through the tendrils, but it began to wane. When the magic holding her to the ground ebbed, Lys fell to her hands and knees.

“Brady,” Inez cried, rushing forward. Ayden proved to be faster. He grabbed her, not allowing her near the plug.

Lys crawled. She had to see. The runes had filled in. The top layer reforming as the pieces gathered back to the plug. A great wind blew straight down from above, and Lys saw the magic returning. Golden trails in the sky retraced their path back to the arch. She watched as the magic squeezed through the gaps in the plug. As the top reformed, there were tiny spots that didn’t seal.

The runes settled in place. The tree symbol reappeared in the bottom of the bowl. The magic stopped. Silence descended.

“Did he do it?” Kamau asked.

She turned to look at him, finding his sister at his side. “I don’t know. I think so.” She didn’t know what the tiny cracks meant. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.

Lys felt Kamau’s fingers reach for hers, but she couldn’t take his hand. She managed a weak smile.

Mark, who appeared beside Inez, wrapped her in a hug as she sunk to her knees. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered in a choked voice. Inez continued to cry. Eventually she grabbed Mark and clung to him. Peter crawled over, hugging Inez with tears streaming down his face.

Kamau’s sister moved around Lys and took her other hand. A slight smile creased her exhausted face.

Lys had so many questions, but she didn’t want to ask them. She didn’t want to think about what just happened, nor did she want to think about what would happen later.

“Lys,” Kamau said, “this is my younger sister, Damisi. She has some very unique abilities.”

Didn’t they all? Lys smiled down at the girl, but she had nothing of substance to say. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Damisi’s voice came in her head again.
You and Kamau make a good couple.

Lys didn’t want to think about Kamau either, but she felt herself blush despite all she had been through in the last few days.

“Damisi.” Kamau’s voice was serious.

“Thank you for coming for me,” she said to her brother, this time aloud.

“Mother was upset.”

Lys sensed a story, but again, she didn’t want to talk. An emptiness filled her—a black hole that sucked her will away. Magic, Brady, her vision of the future. All these things combined into a puzzle that Lys couldn’t put together. The longing for magic lay inside of her, almost as powerful as her need, but right now exhaustion washed over her, allowing her to ignore it. The loss of Brady broke away the barriers around her heart. She could hear Inez still sobbing into Mark’s shoulder, and Lys knew that Inez had to be suffering even more. She let go of Kamau’s and Damisi’s hands and stumbled over to Inez.

“I’m so sorry.” Lys didn’t have anything else to say. She reached up and stroked the other girls’ hair.

“He’s gone,” Inez said, the words muffled by Mark’s shoulder.

“He’s gone.” Lys repeated the words as her heart broke. Could she have stopped him?

It was too much. Lys felt herself fading. She lurched to the side, barely catching herself with her hands.

“Lys!” Kamau was there immediately.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I think I’m done.”

Chapter 35

She woke
to the soft murmur of voices. Cool, fresh air filled her nostrils. When Lys opened her eyes, darkness greeted her.

Darkness! Where was she? Panic forced her into a sitting position, her hand reaching out in front of her. To her relief, her fingers came into view, but they were blurred, and everything around her lurked behind a black curtain. What did the magic do to her?

Magic. Once a word symbolic of wonder—princesses, castles, wizards, knights, unicorns, love. Now Lys felt a heavy weight inside of her—the word magic a curse. She lay back down, pulling a sleeping bag up to her chin.

“Lys?” Inez’s voice asked. She turned her head to find Inez lying across from her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” The image of Brady stepping into the hole caused a lump to form in Lys’s throat—what could she say? “Where are we?” Inez would kill her if she knew Lys had known what Brady was going to do. She asked herself again if she could have stopped him.

“Some campsite in the desert.” Inez sat up, pulling the sleeping bag tight around her.

“What about Mason?” Lys propped herself up on one elbow facing Inez.

“He got away. Those guys from the New went after him.”

Should she be rooting for the New? Did they still plan to kill her when they got the chance?

“I kind of hope they catch him,” Inez said.

Lys nodded, her mind returning to the events at the arch. “I’m sorry I collapsed. Not much of a help.” Lys looked away.

“Kamau brought you back.”

Silence descended. The mention of Kamau turned Lys to another subject she didn’t want to think about. Kamau had betrayed her, betrayed them. But then he saved them. Lys didn’t know if there were good guys and bad guys anymore.

That thought brought Lys to who really saved them. “I’m sorry about Brady,” she said.

Inez nodded. “He did it to save us.” Her voice cracked. “Why would he do something so stupid?”

“Because he’s a hero. Because of the magic. Because he loved you.”

“Don’t say he did it just for me!” Inez said, quickly wiping a tear away.

Lys shrugged. “He cared about people. He did it because he loved you and wanted to save everyone.” It was a good answer. A true answer, but not the only answer. The other part of the answer included magic and being able to live without all that power. Lys shook her head. “What time is it?”

“It has to be almost morning.” Inez shifted in her sleeping bag.

“Did everything happen yesterday?” Lys hoped she hadn’t missed several days.

“Yes.”

Lys considered her magic. “Do you feel.” Lys paused. “Empty?”

“Yeah.”

The past week felt like it had been a year long. First Mason at the hospital, the recovery facility, the New. “You guys showed up with the New,” Lys said. “What happened? Did they have Peter?”

Inez nodded. “They used Peter to track us. After they got you out of camp, Kamau explained things to, what’s his name? The guy with the red hair?”

“Doyle?” Lys ventured.

“That’s him. Kamau explained Mason’s plan. He said you told him.” Inez raised her eyebrows.

“I did tell him,” Lys said. “Right after I talked to Mason. Right before we found you.”

“Doyle told everyone Mason’s plan. He explained that opening the outlets would cause an imbalance, or something. He asked for volunteers to go and stop Mason.” She grinned for a second. “Naturally I said I would help.”

“How did you convince Mark to come?”

“He decided to come on his own,” Inez said. “Six or seven users came with us.”

Lys tried to digest this. “But don’t the New kill magic users?”

“They do.” Inez shrugged. “But you know, the enemy of my enemy and all that. At least they didn’t kill Peter.”

“I’m glad he’s okay.” Lys smiled. She could feel Inez’s pain and joy through her words.

“Me, too.”

A rustling from outside startled Lys. “You girls up? Why don’t you come out and help us with breakfast? Everyone else is awake.” Ayden’s voice came through the tent, his usual joviality gone, replaced by a beaten down tone that made Lys sad.

Lys looked at Inez and they pulled themselves out of their sleeping bags. Their boots sat near the door, and Lys took her time lacing hers up. Inez sighed and Lys unzipped the door. Crisp, morning air greeted them, and after Inez helped her out of the tent, they both stood with their arms wrapped around their stomachs, teeth chattering.

“Here.” Ayden handed them each a hooded jacket. “These were in the van.”

“Thanks.” Lys took the jacket and pulled it on over her clothes.

“Kamau is working on a fire. Come help us cook.”

She didn’t really cook, but it might be good to have something to do. Something to keep her mind off of Brady, magic, and death.

A handful of people from the cabin stood a little way from the fire, talking to Mark in low voices. Kamau and his sister coaxed a blaze from the fire pit just as Lys and Inez walked over.

A dull gray hovered in the air, waiting for the sunrise to burn it away. They were still in the desert surrounded by the Needles. Each step she took on the rocks sounded like a stampede. The silence made Lys believe that they could be the last people left in the world.

Kamau stood as they approached. He had a bucket in each hand. “We need some more water for breakfast.” He met Lys’s eyes. “Would you like to help me?”

Not the smoothest get away line in the world, but it would have to do. Lys took one of the buckets. “Sure.”

They walked down a path lined with stones on each side. Kamau waited to speak until they were a good distance away.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he said, glancing over.

“I’m sorry I stomped on your foot.” Not the best way to begin, but at least she started.

“I deserved it.”

“Yeah.”

Their feet crunched on the path. Lys had a thousand questions, but she didn’t trust her voice.

“You probably hate me.”

“No!” Lys said, turning her head to meet his eyes. “I mean—” She looked away. “It would be easier if I could hate you.”

They arrived at the water spigot and Kamau turned it on, watching as his bucket filled.

“My sister disappeared three months ago.” His eyes continued to watch the water. “My parents asked me to find her.”

Lys didn’t have any siblings. She didn’t even have many cousins, but she could feel the despair in his voice. Now that she’d lost Brady, Lys understood. “How did you find her?”

“It is a long story.” He moved his bucket and held out his hand for Lys’s. She gave it to him, their fingers brushing.

Kamau went on. “At first I didn’t find Mason, I found Doyle and the New.”

“Did they try to kill you?” Lys asked, glancing around as if expecting the New to appear.

“They did,” Kamau said, his mouth tugging into a small smile. “When they failed at that, and I convinced them that I wasn’t with Mason, we struck a deal. They got me to Mason in exchange for me finding out what Mason’s plan was.”

“Which I handed over on a silver platter,” Lys grumbled.

“Doyle knew that Mason wanted you specifically, so he told me to stick close to you.”

“Which you did,” Lys said, hitting him with a flat stare. It hurt more coming from his lips.

“I couldn’t help myself,” he said, holding her gaze.

Okay, Lys had to admit that was good. “And?”

“And I wanted to tell you a thousand times, but Mason had my sister. When you found me in the hospital basement, I was looking for her.”

That, at least, finally made some sense.

“Until you and Brady came along, I didn’t know what Mason expected of a magic user—the breaking. So I’d been stuck in my room for a few days.”

“And the New? Did they follow you?”

Kamau’s dark eyes went cold. “They weren’t supposed to attack, but someone got antsy and nabbed us. In their hide out, I told Doyle he had to let us go because I still didn’t know anything.”

“So they let us go?” Lys asked.

“No,” Kamau shook his head. “Doyle wanted us around for another day so he could try to convince you to trust him and not Mason. Mark and Brady broke us out unexpectedly.”

Water sloshed to the top of the bucket, and Lys watched it slowly settle. Finally the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The New followed Kamau from Vegas, maybe using Peter to help them. Having Mason so close turned out to be more tempting than they could handle, so they attacked in force. Hurting people. Trying to hurt her. And Brady.

Lys swallowed, blinking away a tear. She steered her thoughts in a different direction. “How is your sister?” Lys asked, picking up her bucket.

“She is well, and she is safe.” Kamau’s eyes searched hers. Lys wondered what he found there.

“I’m glad,” she said, turning away.

“Wait,” Kamau said, reaching out to put his hand on her arm. “I
am
sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Lys felt more tears coming. “I’m sorry, too,” she said, stepping away. He had used her, misled her. Was everything a lie? She wanted to ask, but couldn’t find the words, and part of her didn’t want the wrong answer from him.

“How are you?” he asked.

Curse him, why did he always have to be so concerned? “How am I supposed to be?” she asked, her voice cracking. “Brady’s gone, I’m addicted to magic, I’ve got a need to rip people’s eyes from their sockets, the man who said he could cure me lied and then left, and you—” She swallowed. “You’re gone, too.”

“I’m not gone,” he said, stepping around in front of her.

Lys shook her head; she couldn’t handle this right now. “You said it was all a lie.”

He put a hand under her chin, tilting her eyes up to meet his. “I didn’t say it was all a lie. I never lied about you, or the way I feel about you.”

She wanted to believe him. Wanted it so bad that her body ached for it to be true. But she didn’t want to let him in. Not again. Not now.

His eyes searched hers. “You’re like no one I’ve ever met before.”

“What, you’ve never had to seduce a girl before?” The remark slipped out. She wanted him to feel as bad as she did.

Kamau smiled. “I’d have to say that you seduced me.”

“What?” Lys asked, jerking her chin from his hand. “What are you talking about?”

“I guess I have a soft spot in my heart for girls who try to get me killed.”

Lys looked away. “Yeah, well I don’t have any place in my heart for guys who pretend to like me in order to use me.”

Kamau reached out and brushed a tear from her cheek. “What about a guy who is sorry he used you, and now he can’t stop thinking about you?”

More emotions. More tears. Lys blinked and stepped away. “I’ll have to think about it.” She turned, walking back down the trail. Kamau moved up beside her, and she didn’t shift away when he walked so close that their arms bumped.

“G’day,” Mark said when they approached.

Lys moved to the fire and set the bucket down next to a table made of rocks and a plank of wood.

“Let’s eat,” Mark said.

They cooked pancakes and hash browns on a griddle over the fire. Lys almost let the hash browns burn, but Damisi saved them. Peter took up a spot next to Inez—he smiled at Lys but didn’t say anything. His eyes kept wandering to Damisi.

Lys tried not to think about how good it would feel if Kamau put his arm around her as they sat next to one another. A gap stood between them, something far worse than a physical obstacle. And Lys knew that she needed to make the next move.

She turned her attention to the far side of the circle and saw Mark wince as he sat down on the ground to eat.

“How is your leg?” Lys asked him, remembering that he’d been injured just a few days before.

“Sore, but good,” he said. “Thanks to Brady.” Mark didn’t hesitate to mention Brady’s name. Lys found that comforting.

The four users that Lys didn’t know sat down as well. They served breakfast on tin plates and ate in silence until Ayden cleared his throat.

“I think we should all go through what’s happened. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

“And you’ve got some explaining to do,” one of the magic users said.

Ayden nodded. “Why don’t we start with Lys? Will you tell us what Mason told you at the house?”

Lys did so, repeating again about the book, the magic being bottled, the outlets, and Mason’s plan to let the magic back into the world. “He didn’t mention anything about destroying everything.”

“What happened at the arch before we got there?” Kamau asked.

She told them, weariness tugging her emotions down to despair.

Damisi spoke for the first time. The girl looked even smaller with an over-sized hoodie on that went almost to her knees. Her slender figure belied her strength. “Will you tell us what you saw?” she asked Lys. “The future, I mean.”

“It was terrible.” Lys took a breath—everyone leaned forward, listening. “I was jumping around from person to person. I saw a man in Japan tear his little boy in half while he was breaking. I saw volcanoes erupting because of touch users.” Lys went on, repeating everything she could remember. “And at the end, I saw Mason. He was happy that the world was wrong.” Lys glanced at Ayden. “I’m sorry.”

Ayden shrugged. “I guess you all know by now that Mason is my father.” He looked around. “It wasn’t a big secret or anything, we just kept the relationship quiet. We both liked it better that way.”

“Did you know what his plan was?” Kamau asked.

“I knew about the magic. He told a lot of people about that, but he needed me specifically because I’m a neutral smell user. He also told me about Lys when he found her. Almost everything at the hospital was aimed at forcing her to break so Mason could identify her power level.”

“Did he know what would happen if we unstopped the magic?” Damisi asked, bringing them around to their original subject.

“I don’t know. He hardly talked with me about it, and I never got to read his books. He kept them under lock and key. I don’t even think he showed the one he showed to Lys to more than a dozen people.”

“He showed me,” Damisi said.

“Because he needed you. He’s good at using people.” Bitterness filled the words.

Ayden turned to look at Kamau. “You have some explaining to do as well. How did you get to the hospital?”