Talent Storm (43 page)

I twisted my body, eyes darting around, trying to find him. At hearing a laugh to my right, I charged, swinging Peacemaker in a wild arc. Again, my mace hit nothing but air. I gasped as the thin wire of a garrote wrapped around my neck from behind. An instant before it sliced through my neck, I dropped my defenses to focus on my telekinesis. I sheared the wire in half, sparing my neck.

In that defenseless instant, Nieri’s talent washed over me in a tsunami of power. Suddenly Lilly appeared before me, crushed and bleeding. I looked away, unable to stomach seeing her die again. I gasped when my parents kneeled before me. Blades appeared over their heads before slicing down. I stumbled, shaking my head and just managed to raise my mace to block Nieri’s attack. I fell to the ground and rolled away.

Ben materialized to my left. “Why did you let me die?” he asked.

I shook my head, screaming. “Leave me alone.”

Nieri’s emotional talent hit me next. The despondency I felt was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It was as if all of my life’s pain was thrown into one heart shattering instant. The world spun before me, and I curled up into a ball. I wanted to die; I had to die. Why did Sofia ever stop me from killing myself? Maybe I should just end everything now.

Wait. What was that? At hearing a small voice in the back of my mind, I tried to focus on it.

Stop
, it shouted, and an image of a stop sign flashed in my brain, severing Nieri’s influence.

Realization snapped through my mind, and my eyes sprung wide. I rolled hard left. The ball of Nieri’s flail whizzed by my ear and crashed into the ground an inch from my head. I wasn’t depressed; he was doing it to me. I wanted to live. I had to live to kill Goldwater and to be with Sofia. My talent, boosted by hatred and technique, could now hold off Nieri while allowing a hint of power for offense. I used it.

Both of his eyes popped in a green burst. He cried out, flinging his hands to his face and collapsing on the ground. His emotional talent faded, leaving all of mine for offense. In a radiant flash, the spiked ball of his own flail smashed into his head. It exploded, and chips of skull and bits of brain showered the wall behind him. The people were finally freed from Nieri’s theatre. I smiled, and this time, I had a right to be happy.

“Jaden!” I heard from behind me. “You’re alive. You’re alive. I thought I’d killed you.” She ran over and threw her arms around me, in a tight embrace.

I grunted as she squeezed my bleeding forearm. “Let’s keep it that way.”

She released her grip. “Oh! Your arm. I’m so sorry. He tricked me.” She lifted the sleeve of my shirt revealing a deep three-inch bloody slash. Luckily her cut missed my veins. “We need to get you stitched up.”

I pointed at her arm. “What about you?”

“Oh yeah. Me too.”

“I got it.” I focused my mind, instantly sealing our wounds. “We should be fine for a while.”

“Good, because I’ve got something to say.” She met my eyes, holding them in hers. “When I thought I killed you, I felt deadened, like there was nothing to live for. I knew then that I made a mistake. I want to be with you; I want you. Damn the consequences.”

“Umm... I’m not so sure it’s a good idea,” I said, shaking my head.

“What? Really.”

“Yeah. Sorry,” I said as a big smile grew on my face.

“Why you...” Her smile stretched to match mine, and she punched me in the shoulder. “I’m going to get you.”

I held up my hands. “Just kidding. Of course I—”

“Me too.” She took my face in her hands and pressed her sweet lips into mine.

The threat of death was quite the boost for my love life.

Dropping my arms to my sides, I smiled broadly, basking in the awesomeness of the moment. The brief period of her rejection made her kiss even more stunning. “Mmm, that was nice,” I said.

She punched my shoulder again.

“What—”

“Oops.”

“Now you’re pushing it.”

Her smile returned. It was the warmth of sunshine on a bitter cold day. She caressed my cheek and kissed me again. Nothing else mattered but our connection, our moment.

She pulled back, her cheeks flushed and her pupils dilated. She grinned and threw herself at me, knocking me backward. At the last second, I cushioned my fall, easing us to the ground. When she laid on me, her soft breasts yielded to my chest.

“I want you,” she whispered.

Her eyes closed and she leaned in. Her warm lips pressed against mine, sending a tingle through my body. Her sweet musk mixed with vanilla perfume, enticing me further. She titled back, meeting my eyes. Hers were chains holding me captive, chains that I’d never break. We both smiled like fools, lost in delight.

Shouts rang out from the lower floors. I pushed myself up. “We better get out of here. The guards are returning.”

She shook her head, touching my chest and pushing me back down. She kissed my neck, her lips lingering between kisses. “Are you sure?” she asked. Footsteps sounded from down the hall, and I sensed talent.

“Not really... but we probably should. We’ll reconvene later.”

Something pounded on the side door, and then an axe head ripped through. Sofia gasped as I picked her up and jumped through the collapsed wall. We flew through the air into the cool night. After we landed with a thud, we ran into the shadows. Only minutes had passed when the sound of the pursuing footfalls diminished. We jogged the rest of the way to our base, hearing explosions, shouts, and gunshots on the way.

Upon entering the underground, we made our way to the main hall. My fears were quelled at seeing all the other rebels removing armor, relaxing, and treating minor wounds.

Valleri stood in the center of them, grinning. “Ah, my young trouble makers return and by the night's sounds, I know that you achieved our goal.”

Barid leaned against a wall, spinning a scimitar. “You seem to be missing some hair, Jaden.”

I touched my head, and grinned. “My normal barber wasn’t around, so I figured I would take care of it myself.”

Valleri smiled at me. “It’s good you have talents in other fields.

“Val, we had better tell them,” said Barid.

We all turned to him.

“A scout infiltrated the base. We managed to kill him, but there might be others.”

Sofia looked around frantically, “Where's the body? We've got to clear out.”

Valleri’s smile grew and she shook her head.

Sofia turned to Barid and frowned when she saw his huge grin. I smiled to myself. Barid and I had a similar sense of humor. Sofia lurched forward, but Pavel grabbed her from behind.

She squirmed in his muscular grasp. “Get off me you oaf,” Sofia yelled, ripping from his grip. She wheeled on Pavel, nostrils flaring.

He kneaded his temples, scowling. “Relax.”

Sofia whirled around before sprinting toward Barid. He raised his hands in defense. She stopped just before reaching him and slapped him in the face.

“Idiot.”

“Hey, don't get mad at me,” Barid said rubbing his face, with a grimace. “You guys had the most fun. I just wanted a little myself.”

“Enough,” said Valleri.

All of the rebels faced her.

“Sofia, are you sure that you were not followed?”

“We're sure Val. It couldn't have gone better,” Sofia said, winking at me.

“How did it go for you?” I asked Valleri.

She glanced at Pavel. “For a while, things looked rough. Pavel was separated from us. I thought we lost him, but he returned at the end of the battle with only minor injuries. All in all it was a successful mission,” she said. “Barid, turn on the radio. Let’s see what they’re saying about the fall of the illusions.”

Barid walked over to a side table and switched on the radio.

“Stay in your homes. We are under illusionary and emotional attacks from Locke’s Coalition. What you see and feel is not real. I repeat, stay in your homes until we can repel the attack. Liberty Kingdom: The Happiest Place on Earth.” In the background, screams and gunfire could be heard.

Sofia rolled her eyes. “What bullshit. People will probably fall for it too. Idiots.”

“Goldwater is anything but a fool,” said Valleri. “This is a perfect cover up statement, but it won’t trick everyone. The death and destruction they see now is too real to fully ignore. The drug will also wear off soon, and we’ve got people spreading the truth.”

I couldn’t believe everyone was so relaxed. “From the sound of things, it’s a war zone out there. People are dying. We’ve got to help them.” I glanced from Val to Sofia.

“No, Jaden,” said Valleri. “We can’t save everyone. We stick to the plan.”

I couldn’t accept needless deaths. “But—”

“Stick to the plan,” Valleri said, allowing for no more arguments. “I’m sorry but there’s always loss in war. People are slaves here. No matter how bad things get, they need to be freed. Now get some sleep. We still have a long fight ahead of us.”

Sofia intertwined her fingers with mine and tugged me. “Come on. Let’s treat our wounds.”

☼☼☼

That night, Sofia and I curled up together in her bed, spent from our ordeal. When night fell, I wanted her by my side to chase away the terrors I’d surely dream of. Tonight, however, nightmares were impossible as the sounds of riots and death penetrated into our underground lair. I wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. I wondered how many people were losing their lives while I tried to shut out the world. Our plan to create strife and confusion had worked. I just hoped there were people left to save by the time we killed Goldwater.

I looked over at Sofia, who somehow slept. I couldn’t help but smile despite all the horrors going on outside. She was a bright spot in the dark world. She looked so peaceful in sleep, somehow different from the warrior she was while awake. At least she was safe for one more day. Who knew how many we had left? Hours passed before the sounds of rampage became less frequent and sleep over took me.

CHAPTER 19

The next morning, I started to rise from bed but Sofia tugged me back down.

“No,” she said. “Stay with me for a while.”

I relented and allowed myself to be pulled back into warm, loving arms.

“Let me take a look at your wound. It looked pretty bad last night,” she said. She pulled up my sleeve and lifted the white bandage. The ten black stitches she’d given me followed a thin red line.

She squinted, moving her head in for a closer look, her brown curls bobbing. “Look at it,” she said, her voice high and her eyes wide.

Looking closer, I noticed that both ends were smooth and pink as if healed. “Huh.”

“That’s it? Huh?”

I shrugged. “I guess I’m a fast healer.”

She shook her head with a huff, her spiraled curls oscillating back and forth.

“How’s yours?”

She flipped her hand at me. “It hurts, but I’ll be fine.”

After lying silently in thought for a while, I rolled over, propping my head up. “Did I ever tell you about Sid?”

“Who’s that?” she asked, her chestnut eyes meeting mine.

I hesitated lost in her gaze before responding. “He was this real uptight weasel, who used to annoy me in school. He always had it out for me.”

“Ooo... one of those.”

“Yeah,” I said shaking my head. “One of those. Well, we always used to play pranks on each other, and I’ll admit that he got me good a few times. The first time he got me was by framing me for cheating. I was given my first failing grade because of it. After that, I vowed to get him good. Danessa, an old friend of mine, helped me devise a plan. When we were set, she lured him into the theater room.”

“What’d you do?”

I smiled. “Later that day, our history class planned to watch a movie about the history of the Coalition. Our teacher set up the projector, then pulled down the screen while facing away. After the class burst out laughing, he whirled around to discover the amusement. Sid’s body was completely rolled in tape and stuck to the screen.”

Sofia giggled, smacking me lightly on the thigh. “You’re bad... but I like it.”

I smiled broadly unable to contain myself. “The best part is that he got disciplined for fooling around with sensitive equipment.”

Sofia laughed. “There’s a right place and a wrong place. School is no place for horse play.”

“It felt good to get him back, but it sparked off a long feud between us. I’m just glad I don’t have to see him anymore. My departure was the easiest way we could have ended our feud.”

☼☼☼

A few days later, Sofia and I sat cross-legged on her bed, eating breakfast. Our morning ritual was one of my favorite parts of each day. I loved all my time with her though. I crunched down on my last bite of pressed oats and honey and then stretched my arms over my head. Sofia ran her fingertips up and down her naked thigh with one hand and tapped her full lips with the other, looking lost in thought. First, I admired her profile—her warm brown eyes, her cute sloped nose, and her round cheeks—then my eyes trailed down to her smooth, toned legs. Talent, they were perfect.

She titled her head and looked at me side-eyed with a growing smile. “What?”

I shrugged. “You’re breathtaking. I was just admiring you.”

She faced me square, and her lips curled up further. Her curly hair was wild from sleep, but it only made her cuter. “You can do that anytime you like.”

I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “That’s why I’m so lucky.” If not for her, I’d be either miserable or dead. Instead, I was riding the clouds.

“We’re both lucky,” she said with a wink. “Well... we should get moving. Val’s waiting for us.

We changed into our clothes for the day and walked to the main hall. Barid and Pavel sat facing Valleri. Our leader paced back and forth, her hands clasped behind her back. Sofia and I sat close together. She laid her hand on my leg, I covered it with mine, and we both faced forward.

Valleri stopped and rotated forward. She stood tall, her shoulders back, her hands clasped behind her. “We’re doing well so far,” she said in her firm leader’s voice, “but we have a long way to go. Grand Duke Zoe Sharpe is the second most powerful person that I know. Her ability to control the biological functions of others is unmatched.”